St. Joseph’s Academy senior Kaley Nieters started her love affair with soccer early, when she was in kindergarten. By second grade she was playing with St. Louis Scott Gallagher club teams, and has been a member ever since. She also is a four-year varsity starter for St. Joseph’s Academy.
Known as a leading scorer, Nieters’ list of athletic accolades is lengthy. “My freshman year I was First Team All-Conference and Third Team All-State,” she says. “I didn’t do as well my sophomore year, but as a junior I was named First Team All-Conference, All-State and All-Metro. And this past year I was named a Future All Star in the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame. It’s a great honor because they only named four kids in the St. Louis area.”
Nieters’ select team also has racked up the accolades. Starting in 2012, her St. Louis Scott Gallagher team won state for three consecutive years and was a 2013 Region II semifinalist. “The first time we won state in 2012 was the first time I ever won state for anything, and it was our finest moment of coming together as a team,” she says. “We finally beat one of the top teams in Missouri, a team that had won for the past four years.”
Looking forward to her final high school soccer season, Nieters has her eye on the state championship. “We’ve gotten third place these past two years,” she says. “But I think this year, we could be successful because we have a lot of talent on the team.”
Next year, Nieters will play soccer for Iowa State University. “I had other offers, but the coach at Iowa really pushed for me and showed that he wanted me and that I was going to get to really play with the team,” she says.
Photo by Kim Magaletta