Quantcast
skip navigation

Mahtomedi's Henry shares her soccer sisters' scoring knack

By PATRICK JOHNSON, Special to the Star Tribune, 09/27/14, 5:47PM CDT

Share

Chelsea Henry, the third family sister to play for Mahtomedi, has the same knack for scoring goals.


Mahtomedi's Chelsea Henry (KYNDELL HARKNESS/STAR TRIBUNE)

Chelsey Henry grew up as a ball girl during her two older sisters’ soccer games at Mahtomedi.

Now she’s one of the best players to ever wear a Zephyrs uniform.

Henry recently tied Jena Kluegel — a two-time All-America at the University of North Carolina — for fourth place on Mahtomedi’s all-time scoring list.

“If you picked a starting lineup of the best players who’ve played here, she’d definitely be in it, easily,” longtime Mahtomedi coach Dave Wald said of the senior forward.

Henry, who has played varsity soccer since eighth grade, has 105 career points for the Zephyrs. That’s still well behind her older sister Brittany, Mahtomedi’s all-time scoring leader with 161 points. Brittany, a 2008 graduate who was named Class 1A Ms. Soccer, led the Zephyrs to three Class 1A state championships and one third-place finish. Chelsey’s oldest sister, Hailey, a 2005 graduate, played four years at Mahtomedi.

“I always looked up to both of my sisters,” said Chelsey Henry, who wears No. 9 just like Brittany. “I remember being at their games. I always felt like I wanted to play intense soccer like that, too.”

Wald has had the good fortune to coach all three Henry girls at Mahtomedi. They play soccer in three distinctly different ways, he said, with one exception.

“They all put the ball in the net,” Wald said. “It’s amazing that all three of them have had that knack.”

Wald said Hailey was “fast and would go around the outside” while Brittany was “very physical, all about power” and “would go straight to goal.” Wald said Chelsey’s game is more about finesse, using her outstanding foot skills and combining with other players.

Chelsey Henry, who is just 5 feet 4, has 16 goals and seven assists in the Zephyrs’ 13 games this season to lead the team in scoring for the third consecutive year. Henry, who earned all-state honors as a junior, is a team captain.

“She is very well-respected around school,” Wald said. “She has an unbelievable work ethic. You see it in the classroom and on the field. If she’s struggling, she’ll put in the extra time. Her character is unbelievable. I put her up against any we’ve had in our program, characterwise.”

Last season Henry had the opportunity to play year-round for the prestigious Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), but she decided to stick with her high school team. Henry and the Zephyrs became the first team in school history to reach the state tournament in Class 2A, defeating Woodbury 3-1 in the section finals.

“Playing high school soccer is about being part of the community,” Henry said. “Having all your friends and fans there cheering you on is so much fun. I grew up with half of this team, since age 5 until now. It was important for me to play with them. I didn’t want to miss playing for my high school.”

Mahtomedi dominated Class 1A for a decade, winning six Class 1A state championships between 1997 and 2008 before being moved up to Class 2A because of enrollment.

After reaching the 2A state tournament last season, Mahtomedi is in a good position to return this fall. The Zephyrs recently defeated Woodbury 4-0 to improve to 9-2-1 overall. They are ranked No. 10 in Class 2A in the latest coaches’ poll.

“This team is capable of doing a lot,” Wald said. “The tough thing about it is doing it year in, year out. When you go one year, you may lose a little hunger. It takes a special group, but the talent is there with this group.”