Glass girls soccer star Johnston signs with LU
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Ted Allen / Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: February 26, 2008
At 5-foot-6, she is the tallest of the diminutive trio, albeit barely, topping Kendall Bartholomew, a senior from Liberty High who's 5-5, and Emily House, a junior out of Heritage who's 5-3.
One of Johnston's greatest influences in the sport was Glass graduate Cat Adams, who stands 4-11. She played at Lynchburg College before graduating last year, her first as an assistant with the Hilltoppers.
"She's tiny like I am and I saw how good she is," Johnston said. "I look up to her a lot, even though she is shorter than me, and now we're really good friends."
Last summer, Adams coached Johnston's Lynchburg United Soccer travel team with training from LU 11th-year coach James Price, who was at Tuesday's signing ceremony. Originally from England, Price played goalkeeper at LU before graduating in 1996.
Johnston should more than compensate for her petite frame with her heart of a champion.
"James Price said at the signing, the greatest thing about her is she's incredibly competitive and driven and she's going to succeed for that," Glass coach Darien McClurg said, adding his favorite thing about her is how she practices with the same intensity as she would play in a state final.
She expects to fit in well at LU, and is looking forward to competing for playing time.
"I'll play wherever they put me," said Johnston, who also was looking at Radford, Christopher Newport and JMU. "Everyone on the team is equally good. I'll have to work to get as good as they are. They're getting better and better."
And so is Johnston, who missed being named the Western Valley District player of the year last season by one vote.
"I'm definitely going to win it this year," she said. "We're going to be really good this year. I'm very ready for it."
Johnston, who got her start in soccer at 9 and was already playing on travel teams by age 11 and on an Olympic Development Program team at 12, won't have much turnover time from the end of her senior season at Glass to the start of her freshman season at LU in the fall.
There will be an adjustment period, not only to the Division I game, but also to the style of soccer played at LU.
"They play a lot of long ball in from the back and we play more possession midfield (at Glass), but I'm sure I can adapt," Johnston said, noting her LUS team used a blend of both attacks. "Cat and Jim Price coached it, so I got a mix of both styles and both work."
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