This week's girls honoree plays on some cold winter nights out in the Southeastern portion of Alameda County, but if her soccer team were a pack of Huskies in the Iditarod Race in Alaska, she would be leading the top sled.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Note: Remember, we are looking for those student-athletes who had a standout performance in their sport from the previous week, but we also are looking for a balance between athletic achievement, academic work in the classroom, community service or overcoming adversity. Send nominations to mark@studentsports.com.

One of the problems with choosing an athlete of the week type award in soccer, is much like in volleyball, they are the ultimate team sports.

So when we wanted to honor a soccer player from the ESPN RISE FAB 50 Winter Soccer girls' top-ranked team in the nation, from Foothill of Pleasanton, we ran into the same problem as with trying to honor girls from California on top-ranked teams in the ESPN RISE Girls Volleyball rankings last fall.  

The volleyball coaches would tell us they had two or three deserving girls.

Imagine our shock when we discovered that 11 players from the Falcons are going to Division I colleges and universities.

We went to the ESPN RISE Girls Soccer Player Rankings and found that one of the 11 girls was individually ranked No. 9 in the nation.

To be ranked that high individually on a team with so many stars, this young lady must be the team's leading scorer, leader on and off the field, most inspirational player and all the other clichés that come to mind about the big star.

Before reaching Foothill Coach Ron Lambert, we called Phillipe Blin, the head coach of the Pleasanton Rage, a club team in the area that has 21 girls going D1, including all 11 from the Falcons. We wanted his opinion on the selection.

	Olivia Klei

"She is very special,” said Blin, about Olivia "Liv” Klei, in a distinct French accent, "and the only one to make the national team.”  

After talking to Blin, we were convinced we had the right player, but we still had no stats or other direct information about Klei other than the club coach's words.

After covering the Falcons home game against California (San Ramon) from the sidelines in 35-degree temperatures on Jan. 28, we could see right away why Klei is so special.

Less then three-minutes into the game, she came inches away from scoring on a cross, missing just wide right with her off foot, the right.

Exactly six minutes later, at the 31:30 mark, sophomore Alesha Blair, who made the first unsuccessful cross, stole a pass and again fired a perfect cross from near the left corner directly in front of the goal.

This time Klei took it off the right foot and past the California goalie as fast as the blink-of-an-eye, and Foothill had all the scoring it needed in an eventual 3-0 victory.

Later in the game, she twice nearly scored on headers, and on the game's final tally, Klei made a pass that few girls can make.

The midfielder marked a girl and stole the ball, and then she saw teammate Carlee Payne streaking into the open from the right.

Klei floated a pass 35 yards in the air that landed right at the feet of the fast-moving Payne, who secured the ball and took it to the net.

Officially, Klei didn't get an assist on the goal because Payne had to do a couple of things with the ball – like turn and ram it home.

The pass was still a gem.

"Did you seeee that paaasss?” asked Blin, who watched from the warm press box, sweetly drawing out a the e's, a's and s's like the French are known to do.

"No other girl can make that pass,” said Blin, who coaches the current Under-18 Rage team Klei and all the other girls have played on for nine years since they were Under-9 when he joined the club.  

We were right on many things about "Liv” as the other girls and coaches call her, but wrong about a few.

She is dynamic on the field and one of the best high school-level players we have ever seen.

She's the obvious team leader whose physical presence commands noticeable respect from opponents right from the start of each contest.  

"She's not your finisher, but she's a creator,” said Lambert the morning after the California victory.

When Lambert finally got around to getting us the stats on the team, we were once again shocked to learn Liv's offensive output against California was just about her high-water mark on the season.

The Falcons' midfielder is not really a scorer and only has three goals and two assists in a 14-0 season that includes a 9-0 record in the tough East Bay Athletic League.

When you have a powerful frame and legs, even for a small girl; compact and quick, long strides; the ability to use either foot effectively; a nose for the ball; and the kind of physicality that makes it impossible for a single defender to mark – and you're on a team with plenty of scorers – you don't need to score to make an impact or get noticed.

On the season, Foothill has outscored its opponents 54-2 and 35-0 in league, a league that this week boasted four other FAB 50 members, San Ramon Valley of Danville at No. 37, Monte Vista of Danville at No. 38, crosstown rival Amador Valley at No. 39, and Carondelet of Concord at No. 42.  

A perfect example of Klei's ability to dominate without scoring or assisting was in the Falcons' 1-0 win against national No. 4 ranked Torrey Pines in the Tri-Valley Classic, Dec. 19 in Danville.

"The Torrey Pines game was the most exciting game I've ever seen,” said Lambert, who has coached in the area 14 years, some with the Rage, and who has been with Foothill girls' soccer nine years, four as varsity coach.

"And Liv had a huge impact, controlling a good portion of the game,” continued Lambert. "She was lights out. It was her best game ever and I've had her since she was a freshman.”

No wonder she was selected to play for the U.S. Women's National Team at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup this past October in New Zealand.

And its no surprise the D1 school Klei has chosen to attend is nearby women's soccer power Santa Clara, where Brandi Chastain starred, and a school that has had five players, including Chastain, recently drafted by the new Women's Professional Soccer League.

Before we get into Liv's other accomplishments and the rest of her story, we might as well mention the girls and the guys.

Filled with humility and love for her teammates and friends, Liv wouldn't have it any other way.

"She's very humble and on a mission to hang a championship banner in our gym,” Lambert told CalHiSports.com. "She doesn't care about scoring, just about being the glue that holds the team together.”

"We've been together for nine years, so we're almost all like sisters and best friends to each other. We all hang out together,” Klei said.

Two of those best friends are coincidentally also the team's top two offensive producers.

One is Brigham Young-bound Payne, who leads the team in scoring this season with 12 goals and five assists.

"Everyone thinks we're twins,” said Liv with a chuckle, about her friend Payne. "We have the same look, the same height and we play similarly.”  

The second is UCLA-bound Sophie Metz. She has four goals and five assists.

The other girls and the colleges they will be attending:

	Foothill Team

Megan Barrett (UC Davis); Krista Bormann (Southern Oregon); Samantha Cloutier (Geo. Washington); Ashley Loughmiller (Washington State); Amanda Luxford (Arizona State); Ashlyn Mazur (San Francisco); Rachael McGlinchy (San Diego State) and Amanda Simat (San Jose State).

There weren't a lot of fans braving the cold on Jan. 28, maybe 100, but one group could not be missed, and sat huddled together by themselves in the stands cheering loudly.

 "Our biggest fans are our guy friends from the football and lacrosse team who come to almost every game,” said Liv with a giggle.

"They're a great group of guys and it helps us to hear them cheering us on,” she continued. "We don't play as well when they're not there.”

It's hard to believe the girls not playing very well given their record, but actually that was the case in the first half against California, even with their beaus present.

Foothill outshot the visiting Grizzlies 15-2 but Klei's goal was all they had to show for it against the packed-in defense of California.

"The California game was a perfect example of Liv's leadership,” Lambert said. "We discussed not playing sharp at halftime and she talked to the girls about picking it up. You saw the result.”

The result was Payne scored off an assist from Ashley Amos and then again of the pass from Klei, but it was Liv's physicality, touches and marking that wore down the physical Grizzlies and closed out what ended up as another shutout victory.

"One of our goals along with going undefeated in EBAL and NCS (North Coast Section) is to have a shutout league and not give up any goals,” Liv remarked.

Because Klei has missed a lot of school and time with friends and family to be able attend camps and play on the U.S. National Team, she falls back on the support of her parents and siblings for strength.

Her father, Steve, the CFO of Xactly Corporation in San Jose, played basketball and baseball in high school back in Michigan, and he's helped Liv develop an interest in business.

"My dad is a big businessman and he's helped me get comfortable with talking to big groups of people,” said Klei, who carries a 3.5 GPA, and who tells CalHiSports.com she plans on majoring in business at Santa Clara with an eye on a possible career as an investment banker.

"Hopefully the economy will improve,” she said wistfully.

Her mother, Katie, currently manages the household.

In high school she played basketball but now she competes in Ironman type running and swimming competition.

When Liv said she herself ran and did conditioning to stay in shape, we asked if she runs with her mom.

"I can run three miles at most,” she said coyly. "My mom likes to run 20 miles.”

Like many young women, Liv enjoys shopping and traveling.

Although she says her older sister, Marissa, a student a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, is her exact opposite when it comes to sports, they are still extremely close.

"She's not the athletic type but we're still best friends,” said Liv, "and she's a big shopper too.”

There are two younger brothers who are both athletes.

Matt, a 14-year-old, is into soccer and baseball, while 11-year-old Jeffrey plays basketball, baseball and soccer.

We forgot to tell you, besides being a triathlete, mom also runs a shuttle service for family sporting activities.

The highlight for Liv was her trip to New Zealand with the U-17 national team that went 3-1-2 and lost in the title game, 2-1, to North Korea in overtime.

She didn't score in the six games but did have three assists, and according to sources, impressed coaches with her teamwork and work ethic.

When we searched for info on Liv and the trip to Hamilton N.Z. for the Women's World Cup, we found her sending back a Halloween picture postcard that depicts her in medical scrubs with a wide-open grin and spooky expression on her face.

Another thing we forgot to mention, Liv is a jokester and prankster.

"Yes,” she admitted with some prodding, "I do jokes all the time, nothing specific, just when the occasion arises.”
 
As for the selection to the team for New Zealand and the honor from CalHiSports.com and ESPN RISE, Klei still has a hard time accepting personal glory.

"All the hard work and the camps, and all the time away from family, friends and my team, was well worth it and paid off,” Klei said.

"It always feels nice to get recognition but I wouldn't be anywhere without my team.”

The words of Blin and his sweet French accent keep ringing.

"The whole group is special, but Liv, she's the one,” said Blin, a pro in Paris before coming across the pond and settling in Northern California.

"No big head, very humble and a complete player.”

Will she follow in the footsteps of Bronco-grad Chastain, a defender content to do other things besides score goals, but who still dominated?

Stay tuned. Before then however, there's a banner to hang in the Foothill gymnasium.

"Being number one in the nation is great, but we take nothing for granted,” Liv said as the interview ended. "We have to work hard every game.”

And what if the other girls aren't working hard enough to meet the team's goals?

Olivia "Liv” Klei will have a talk with them, and you know what happens when she does that.