DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:Ohlhaver’s heart belongs solely to soccer

Soccer has always been good to Emily Ohlhaver.

The game has been there for her, even though she dabbled with other sports.

Ohlhaver, a junior at Newport Harbor High, started playing soccer and falling in love with the sport when she was 5. She enjoyed the competition and the winning that came with it. Her position of center midfielder entrusted her with a great deal of responsibility on the field.

Entering her junior year, it was time to give back to soccer by giving more of herself to the sport.

Ohlhaver had played field hockey in the fall her first two years at Newport Harbor and competed in track and field for two springs.

Before the start of school this year, Ohlhaver made a decision for more soccer and decided she would not compete in the other two sports.

“I was really bummed about quitting field hockey because it was so fun,” Ohlhaver said. “Soccer has always been my main sport.”

By focusing on the near year-round club soccer season when she isn’t competing for the Sailors’ soccer team Ohlhaver, the Daily Pilot Female High School Athlete of the Week, said she improved on the technical aspects of the game.

“I’m working on my touches,” Ohlhaver said. “The more touches I get and the more I handle the ball the better I get.”

Ohlhaver scored two goals in Newport Harbor’s 5-1 victory over Corona del Mar in the championship game of the inaugural Newport-Mesa Cup on Saturday. She also had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win over Estancia earlier in the day.

“She’s just a well rounded player,” Newport Harbor Coach Josh Brooks said. “She has great pace, great vision. But the most important thing is that she has great work ethic.”

Ohlhaver’s upping in her commitment to soccer has taken on added importance this season. Ohlhaver is a captain, Newport Harbor’s only first-team All-Sea View League selection and the Sailors are stepping up from CIF Southern Section Division II to Division I.

Newport Harbor is also a entering league, the Sunset, which houses soccer powers Los Alamitos and Esperanza.

“It’s going to be a lot harder,” Ohlhaver said. “We have to work as a unit. We have to have fun but also win.”

Ohlhaver is accustomed to being vocal and her teammates are used to listening to her. She was a starter at the center midfielder position as a freshman, which required her to direct seniors on the team.

“That was kind of difficult,” Ohlhaver said. “[The seniors] were shocked that I felt OK with telling them what to do.”

This season is different with Ohlhaver looked to from the start.

“I’d say I’ve become more of a leader,” Ohlhaver said. “This year I’m a captain and I’m more comfortable directing people. We’re in a tougher league. We all know what we have to do.”

Brooks said Ohlhaver is the type of player that makes her teammates better.

“It’s her creativity on the ball and her vision,” Brooks said. “She’ll distribute or work off the ball. A lot of players react to things. She sets it up and anticipates the play.”

Having two teammates on Newport Harbor who are also on her club team has enhanced Ohlhaver’s ability to distribute. Juniors Rachel Baugh and Crystal Mena have played with Ohlhaver for the past five and six years, respectively.

“That helps us a lot because we’re used to playing together,” Ohlhaver said. “The whole team, we’re pretty much all friends.”