Jenna Covello worked her share of soccer camps while growing up as a star player in the town of Terryville. She eventually became the high school’s all-time leading girls soccer scorer with 96 goals.
Covello remembers Taylor Freimuth being one player who she took notice of at those camps.
"I’ve had the privilege of coaching Taylor at various soccer camps over the years, and from the start she stood out, not only for her talent, but also for her positive attitude, work ethic and genuine love for the game,” Covello said.
Freimuth calls Covello a mentor. “I’ve always looked up to her, gone to her college games (at Central Connecticut State University). She was a big role model for me,” Freimuth said.
The names Freimuth and Covello will forever be linked in Terryville soccer history. Freimuth passed Covello to become the program’s all-time leading scorer on Sept. 12.
Freimuth scored her 97th goal in that 2-1 overtime win against Northwestern. She then put together consecutive hat tricks to move past 100 career goals. There is still more than half of the regular season left.
Terryville coach Maggie Bossi has often been impressed with how she has practiced and handled herself.
“We need her to be a goal scorer. She takes that role seriously,” Bossi said.
Covello is “incredibly proud” of Freimuth breaking her record, “raising the bar even higher” in the Terryville program.
“She’s been coachable, driven and humble, so it’s no surprise her hard work and dedication has led to this accomplishment,” Covello said.
Freimuth herself knew she was in range of the record to start the season and wasn’t nervous about breaking it.
“I’m honored, I could not have done it without Coach (Bossi) and my teammates. They paved the way to lead me to success,” Freimuth said.
The numbers are quite eye–opening. Freimuth scored 21 goals her freshman season, followed by a school-record 37 as a sophomore and 31 as a junior. She now has 103 goals heading into this week. Freimuth also has 54 assists through her junior year.
“She is physically strong and has great awareness on and off the ball. She knows how to exploit defensive lapses, has great patience and doesn’t rush decisions,” Lakeview girls soccer coach Mike Shea said.
Freimuth isn’t the only player in the Berkshire League with over 100 career goals. Ava Sagella of Housatonic, who is committed to play at Sacred Heart University, surpassed the century mark earlier this season.
And even though she is a fantastic scorer, Freimuth isn’t always playing forward for Terryville. If the Kangaroos are ahead, Freimuth slips back into the midfield. She also will move to sweeperback on defense in close games.
In the game prior to Northwestern, Terrville beat Housatonic 2-0. Bossi said she moved Freimuth, who tied Covello in that game, to sweeperback with about 3 minutes left. Bossi said they only had 12 available players for the game due to injury.
“There were tired legs back there,” Bossi said. “She gave up her opportunity to break the record in that game."
Freimuth, who also previously played basketball and softball for Terryville, has a pretty good off-the-field resume. She is involved in the school’s booster club and National Honor Society. Bossi said she also helps with freshman orientation, providing some guidance to students new to the district.
Freimuth is currently looking at schools for soccer. She is interested in going into the medical field, specifically ultrasound technician. She also has an interest in real estate.
“I like helping people. I always wanted to do something in the medical field,” Freimuth said. “For real estate, I like the idea of helping people make big purchases in life.”
What does Bossi tell college coaches who have shown interest in Freimuth?
“A college program would be lucky to have her,” Bossi said. “‘I can’t stress enough this is your future captain.’ She is the hardest-working kid at practice. … It would be easy for her to slack off, but she always just pushes it to the limit. She brings out the best in all of us. She’s such a great team ladder, has a really positive attitude. We ask big things of her and the pressure never gets her down. She rises to the pressure, rises to the competition and that makes her better.”