Annville-Cleona's Rowan Ulrich hitting "another level" after scoring 100th career point

After hitting a career milestone, the points are bound to keep coming for Rowan Ulrich.

Just a few days into September, Annville-Cleona’s senior athlete hit the 100 points mark for her varsity career — it came on a day she earned three goals to lead the team’s 5-0 win versus Tulpehocken.

Ulrich has played soccer since before kindergarten, so her knowledge on the pitch stands out constantly. Ryan Ulrich, the Dutchmen head coach and Rowan’s father, said her 100-point mark is a testament to her talent and experience in the sport.

“She reads the field really well and is good at putting other players in position to score,” Ulrich told the Lebanon Daily News. “We miss her when she's not on the field, (Rowan) is our most effective goal scorer.”

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Ulrich has been a consistent playmaker over the years, and it's translated into the team continuing to develop their games. She’s invested lots of time into the sport, and it stands out to those playing alongside her.

“(Rowan) has played so much, and she's a very cooperative player so that shows a lot in games,” Senior midfielder Marley Bucher said. “Her experience has really helped everyone — even the freshmen — they want to get better and I feel like everyone looks up to her.”

Ulrich’s mark of 100 points clearly says a lot about her game. To Ulrich, her dominance comes from coordinating with her teammates and her confidence in one-on-ones.

“Every goal pushes me to do even more, so that’s important,” Ulrich said. “Communication and drive — not hesitating and just going for the goal.”

As one of the team’s five seniors, Bucher said that the group anticipates eachothers moves when they’re in game situations. Ulrich’s experience contributes to the all-around communication, and leads to the group attacking on the same page.

“She's a really strong leader on and off the field,” Bucher said. “(Rowan) pushes herself and pushes everyone else, and she's a star.”

Rowan saw the 100-points mark coming, but didn’t know about the count until a teammate told her beforehand. Ulrich finished last campaign with 90 career points — before the hat-trick performance that gave her triple-figure numbers, she said she felt confident it’d happen.

“It’s definitely up there at the top (of my favorite games),” Ulrich said. “I think it's number one.”

In her final season of varsity, the Dutchmen’s leading scorer has been a constant factor in action. The other side of her game revolves around leading on the pitch, and Ulrich’s team has seen success come to life.

Since becoming a go-to playmaker, Ryan Ulrich said she’s seen more defenders from opponents. The senior student-athlete has improved her ability to shoot with both feet, and it helps her stay lethal from all around.

“It's really encouraging,” Ulrich said.” She's shown a big commitment to be effective at shooting at distance with both feet, and that wasn't the case two or three years ago.”

“(Rowan) doesn't need a whole lot of space to be able to get a shot off since she can shoot with both feet,” Ulrich said. “When she has an opportunity to take on the last attacker, I encourage her to do it every time.”

Having such a dominant scorer helps in all facets, and makes coaching easier for Ulrich and the group. The Dutchmen’s leading goal scorer has also handed out plenty of assists, and her coach said she’s especially improved at directing easy looks for teammates.

“She's become really effective at dropping in as a false nine — somebody who will play between the last line of defense and the midfielders.” Ulrich said. “(Her teammates) are hitting the line with speed, and (Rowan) is sending them off for scoring opportunities.”

Now, Annville-Cleona has had several strong wins within the initial weeks of its regular season, including a few shutout performances.

Rowan said this team’s dynamics stick out to her, and that the group has continued to get better at all levels.

“My teammates are really positive and motivational, so they always hype me up when stuff happens. I do the same for them and that really helps with confidence,” Ulrich said. “We've really improved — we had one bad loss, but now we're really building up.”

Heading into the remainder of the season, Annville-Cleona has its core of leaders to lean on throughout the year.

After some promising performances two weeks in, the team’s shown to have leaders who step up in crucial moments. Rowan’s contributions have led the way so far, and her ability to see “what the defense is giving” has made the difference this year.

“(Rowan) doesn’t need to be coached to recognize how she should be attacking,” Ulrich said. “When they can make those changes on the field, we may be able to adapt before we let up a goal.”

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Annville-Cleona's Rowan Ulrich hitting "another level" after scoring 100th career point