Top: Morgan Pearce with her parents, Jennifer and Bill Pearce. Bottom: Hayley Hotchkiss with her parents, Doug and Jill Hotchkiss, and her sister, Hannah.
Friends, family members, coaches and staff gathered in the Atrium at Westerville North High School on Friday afternoon, May 8, to support soccer players Morgan Pearce and Hayley Hotchkiss, who signed Letters of Intent to play at Adrian College and Otterbein University, respectively.
Pearce has played soccer for four years at Westerville North, serving as captain her freshman year and again during her senior year on varsity, where she played for the past three years. She was named third team and special mention in the OCC Cardinal Division her junior year and OCC Honorable mention her senior year. She also played softball and basketball her freshman year and varsity basketball her senior year, and was presented with the “Warrior Way” award by Coach Tillman and his staff her senior year. Pearce has been an academic scholar athlete all four years at North. She played club soccer since 2005 with teams including The Blast FC, Columbus Crew Juniors Gold, and Classics Eagles. She was recruited by numerous colleges to play soccer and selected Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan, a D3 liberal arts college in the MIAA (Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association) and member of NCAA. Pearce will pursue her defensive position with the Bulldogs under the leadership of Coach Ali Alamdari. She also plans to continue playing cello in the Adrian orchestra and singing in their choir, all while working on a degree in health sciences, leading to graduate studies in physical therapy. Specifically, she would like to work with the deaf community.
“Playing for Westerville North is something I will always be proud of,” says Hayley Hotchkiss, who has memories she will cherish forever. Freshman year didn’t go as planned with a broken shoulder and being out for half of the season, but her high school soccer career ended on a good note with being named as a captain and winning OCC and district awards. Hotchkiss thanked her teammates for making each season fun; her parents for their support; and her coaches for their care and concern. “It’s nice to have coaches you can talk to and who really want to make you a better player,” she said. Hotchkiss has played soccer since she was six years old and has always loved the game. She is thankful to be able to continue playing for another four years at the collegiate level at Otterbein University, where she plans to study Biology or Nursing.