Girls soccer: Medina's Emma McTigue is a rookie on a roll

With the way Medina freshman Emma McTigue has burst onto the high school girls soccer scene, it'd be easy to assume she's a natural-born scoring threat. Her journey to becoming the Bees' current leading scorer is much more complex, as McTigue has worked tirelessly and dealt with success and setbacks on the pitch with a mature, optimistic approach. "I've had very positive and negative experiences with club coaches," McTigue said. "I was told that I wasn't going to 'make it,' so I feel like that fuels me every day to prove other people wrong." McTigue has scored twice in both a 3-0 victory over Brecksville and a 2-2 tie against returning back-to-back Division I state finalist Walsh Jesuit. With only four returning letterwinners and the top four scorers lost to graduation, Medina needed to find players to put the ball in the back of the net. McTigue has fit the role perfectly in the early stages. "As a freshman, it's sometimes unpredictable what you have until they come into the program," coach Jason Rutkowski said. "Her work rate off the ball, on the ball is very dynamic. "She's played mostly for us in the midfield, but we also throw her up top as well. Her ability to make things happen has been very good at this early stage." Last year's returning leading scorer, Sydney Atkinson (6 goals, assist), has the Bees' other goal this season. A turning point for McTigue came during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in the spring of her third-grade year, when working on her skills became a very positive distraction. "I started playing when I was really young and fell in love with it," she said. "I wasn't really good at soccer, though, when I was younger. When COVID hit, I decided to see how far I can go. I started training every day and found joy with having the ball at my feet. "I love the people and the adrenaline I get when I have the ball in a game. When the pressure is on, that's when I love the game the most." There's another reason McTigue's ascent as a scoring threat comes as a bit of a surprise. Though she was a midfielder when she was younger, she spent a number of years in travel soccer focused on being a center back on defense. "I really didn't get to score that often (at center back), McTigue said. "When (Rutkowski) told me I would be playing middie, I said, 'Let's do it.' Scoring my first goal, I think, really set the tone for how the season is going to go." Added Rutkowski: "Her soccer I.Q. is really, really high for her age. She sees the game very well and takes advantage of those moments she sees an opening, whether it's creating a shot for herself or somebody else." While McTigue says she tries to model her game after U.S. National team member Rose Lavelle, who also plays for the NWSL's Gotham FC, there was another role model closer to home that made a huge impact on her when she was younger in "Big Sis" Tori Lyncha, a 2021 Medina graduate. "I wanted to be just like her," McTigue said of Lyncha. "I got my little sister (this week) and when I saw her name I got so much joy, because I was scared of my big sis at first, but she ultimately became the person I looked up to the most. The possibility of being such a role model in someone else's life amazes me." Medina will look to continue its fast start to the season tonight when the Bees travel to New Albany. There's also contests with returning D-III state champion Bay, rival Magnificat and the Greater Cleveland Conference finale against Strongsville down the line in a schedule loaded with big games. McTigue is confident the Bees' training and camaraderie will shine in those moments. "I feel like the season is going really great," she said. "As a team, we've been doing pretty well at practice. We've done a lot of team bonding and I feel like it's been showing out on the field. "We're a really young group and I feel like the upperclassmen have done a really good job of showing us the way of high school soccer." Though only a freshman, McTigue is quickly showing the maturity to fit in with those elder teammates. "She has a great personality that meshes very well," Rutkowski said. "Some freshmen come in shy and maybe timid. She does not. She's very vocal and mixes in very well with the upperclassmen. "We took a trip to Penn State and seeing her with the upperclassmen, you'd think she's been with them for 10 to 15 years. It's been a seamless transition to come into the program." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.