The Herald’s 2023 Girls Soccer Player of the Year: Amelia Severn

SHORELINE — Amelia Severn’s ability to wheel and deal in the open field made her an entertaining midfielder to watch this fall. The Shorewood senior led a balanced offensive attack with her foot speed and dynamic shot-creating abilities, and it made the Stormrays a challenging group to slow down. Shorewood outscored opponents by an average of 3.7 goals per game en route to an 18-2 overall record and a No. 2 seed in the Class 3A state tournament, and the Gonzaga-bound star was at the forefront of it all. The Wesco 3A/2A Player of the Year provided 24 goals along with 23 assists as she helped lift the Stormrays to their second consecutive state berth in a dominant regular season, which led to a perfect 15-0 league mark and a 3A District 1 championship. For her efforts, Severn is The Herald’s 2023 All-Area Girls Soccer Player of the Year. “She’s deserving across the board,” Shorewood head coach Brooke Pingrey said. “She’s an incredible player. It’s really rare to find a player, especially in high school soccer, who’s as tactically gifted as they are technically gifted. She can put a set of eyes on the field that can see things that others can’t see from the sidelines.” Severn formed a dynamic pairing with Shorewood’s other shot-creators and became more of a hub within the offense than in past years. She was second on her team in total goals behind fellow midfielder and sophomore Diana Tuilevuka (25 goals, seven assists), who tends to be more of an attacking mid from her position. Abbey Lee, a junior forward, offered 15 goals. “She took on a role of supporting the people around her and trusting her teammates a lot more this year, which was really cool to see,” Pingrey said. “To see the fact that she’s supplying good balls on frame to her teammates just as much as she was for herself was a really special thing to watch.” The Stormrays scored five or more goals in seven contests, and Severn’s ability to carve up opposing defenses with her footwork led to a lot of those offensive explosions. “We really came together as a team,” Severn said. “We had so many goals, so many successes from everybody, our defense was amazing. And, I think the best part of it all was everybody become so close throughout the season. It was a great group of girls to play with and get to know, it was so amazing.” Shorewood’s playoff run ended with a premature first-round exit to 15th-seeded Mt. Spokane in a 2-1 loss. After the Stormrays quarterfinals appearance in 2022, Severn wanted more, but shaking off the loss was a moment she and her team learned from. “I know we wish we would have gotten a little further at state,” Severn said. “I know we all know … we probably could’ve done more, but I wouldn’t change what happened for anything.” Severn, who spent her club seasons with Edmonds FC and top AAU program Seattle United, said she focused on creating a close-knit team culture as the Stormrays season progressed. “For me, I just wanted us to focus and bring everybody together,” Severn said. “I know that sometimes in high school sports teams can be more separated off the field. I think we all tried to focus on doing team activities outside of practice. … Even after a big loss like Mt. Spokane, we did team breakfast the next day, just because we were so tight and we wanted everyone to have the same mentality.” Severn chose to sign with Gonzaga University during the last recruiting period, a decision she was more than sold on. She plans on pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism. “It sort of came down to the community of Gonzaga is just great,” Severn said. “It felt like a place I could grow, not only as a soccer player but as a human being. The people there are just amazing, and it felt like a perfect place for my own personal development.”