Molly Huber was stunned.
A standout striker and recent Ursuline graduate, Huber wasn’t expecting to hear her name called when the Most Valuable Players of the 26th Annual Missouri Athletic Club Senior All-Star soccer game were announced.
But, there she was, being handed an envelope and receiving a nice ovation for her excellent work for the South team, which lost 6-2 to the North.
Huber has garnered her share of awards over the years and deservedly so. She’s one of the most dynamic offensive players in the area. She might be the soccer ball’s best dance partner. Huber can make it spin, twist, jump and fly with the best of them.
That skill was on display in the second half of Thursday night’s all-star game at the Anheuser-Busch Center. The 5-foot-7 Huber scored one goal and assisted on another.
Makes you wonder what she could have done if she hadn’t been delayed in Memphis.
Huber spent the past several days in Lexington at the University of Kentucky, where she’ll begin her college soccer career this fall. Huber, 18, was at school getting a few things in order to begin her transition to college.
She had worked it out with the coaching staff at Kentucky to get away for the weekend to be in St. Louis for the MAC game and the Fourth of July.
Everything was going well until her connecting flight from Memphis to St. Louis was delayed…for three hours.
When she finally landed at Lambert she was itching to get to the game.
“I told my dad to book it,” she said with a laugh.
She arrived at halftime and took a look at the scoreboard. The North team led 3-0 and Huber was hoping to make it closer in the second half.
But that didn’t happen.
The North team kept pounding away with chance after chance. Huber and South teammate Michelle Auer (Notre Dame) worked well together up top. The duo kept peppering the North defense but time and again they were rebuffed. Huber had at least two sure goals saved by the goalkeeper.
Both Auer and Huber scored and assisted on each other’s goals.
Huber went to extreme measures to be at the senior all-star game. She said it was an honor to be a part of it and she wanted to make every effort to be there.
“I thought it was a big deal,” she said. “I got to play with some of the girls I’ve known and played with.”
Though she only got to play the second half, Huber said it was an enjoyable experience.
“It was exciting,” she said. “I thought it was going to be a good game.”
Huber will spend the long weekend with her family and friends before returning to Lexington to continue her preseason responsibilities.
There was one downer to this all-star experience. It’s the second time in the last three weeks Huber has walked off the Soccer Park’s main field without a victory. The Class 3 title game against Liberty being the much rougher defeat.
“I’m starting to not like this field,” she said with a smile.
