By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports
Seven girls and three boys, graduated from local high schools in 2022, will be playing soccer collegiately this fall.
Their journey is taking them to all levels of collegiate play, from Division I through NAIA. They will compete around the country, including Vermont, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and, of course, Louisiana.
Byrd keeper Emerson Roberts is the only local Class of ‘22 player playing at the DI level, attending ULM this fall. Roberts played club ball with the Texans ECNL (Dallas), and the Tammany Tigers (Mandeville).
Roberts’ awards are plentiful, including All-District first team all four years and she was the Shreveport-Bossier Journal All Metro player of the year in 2022. She was on the All-State All Freshman team, All-State second team as a junior and first team as a senior. She made the All-Star team and was voted the All-Star Game MVP. She was selected to the Academic All-State Composite team as well.
Khiana Roraback, a four-year starting forward for Byrd and member of the Shreveport United 03 girls’ squad who reached the 2021 US Club Nationals, is headed to Swanee University in Tennessee. As a junior, Roraback was named to the all-district, all-metro and all-state first teams, and was district MVP. As a senior, Roraback had a nagging leg injury which limited her playing time. She was still elected to the All-Star team and made first team all-district and the SBJ’s 2nd team all-metro. Her classroom work did not suffer as she was on the Academic All-State Composite team.
Katie Smith, a Byrd defender, will be playing her college soccer locally at Division III Centenary. She was a member of the Shreveport United 03 girls’ team that went to the nationals in 2021. Smith was voted the team’s Defensive MVP in 2021 and 2022. She was also the all-district defensive MVP in 2022, a member of the Journal’s All-Metro team in 2022, and on the Academic All-State Composite team.
Adele Bihler, a two-year captain at Airline High School, will be joining Smith at Centenary this fall, where her older brother is on the men’s soccer team. Bihler was all-district second team and all-parish first team. She also earned a spot on the Academic All-State team. Bihler played her club ball with Shreveport United’s 03 girls.
Maya Jackson, Parkway’s goal-scoring machine, will be playing soccer at Division II Delta State in Mississippi. Jackson was a four-time all-district award winner, and twice was all-metro, including the inaugural Journal All-Metro team. She was selected to play in the state All-Star Game, honoring the top graduating seniors. Jackson was also voted Miss Parkway 2022.
Jordan Lee, Caddo Magnet’s captain and an outstanding defender, will be playing locally at NAIA LSUS. Lee played her club soccer on the Shreveport United 04 girls’ team. She was first-team all-district as a senior and voted the Spirit Award for her team. She is also a member of the Academic All-State team.
Nadia Onsarigo, a midfielder at Captain Shreve, will play at Centenary. She has deferred her time at Centenary to go through her basic training for the National Guard. She will be on campus in Spring 2023, and ready for soccer next fall.
All the boys moving on to college soccer were members of the Shreveport United 04 Boys team that came just short of winning the State Cup in 2022.
Logan Smith, star midfielder for Benton High School, is headed to Division II Harding University in Searcy, Ark., for his college career. Smith was twice all-district and made the SBJ’s first All-Metro team in 2022. He was selected to the all-state second team as a senior and was a pivotal member of the Tigers’ run to the state finals in 2021.
Michael Hamauei, Byrd High School’s keeper, will be heading east to Jackson, Miss., to continue his soccer career at Belhaven. Hamauei was first-team all-district and made the SBJ’s first All-Metro team.
The Journal’s All-Metro Player of the year, Andrew Stuart, is making the longest journey as he continues his soccer career at Middlebury, in Middlebury, Vermont. Stuart was selected offensive MVP for Division I District I along with his SBJ accolades.
Contact David at DErsoff@bellsouth.net
