Aubrey Kampa needed almost three heads Thursday to hold all her hats.
It's doubtful that anybody needs more than one head. But for Kampa, it seems pretty fitting considering that she knocked in eight goals in a single high school girls soccer game, falling one goal short of a triple hat trick.
The
Hortonville (Wis.) junior forward scored eight of her team's nine tallies Thursday in a 9-6 win over Shawano in a Bay Conference contest, and she was the force behind a furious comeback that turned a 6-4 deficit with 25 minutes to go into a comfortable win. The Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wis., was the first to report the feat.
"That's the first time I've seen (eight goals). The school record was only four goals before that," said Polar Bears coach Paul Everett. "I never expected a 9-6 score to be perfectly honest. We went into overdrive."
And Kampa didn't really expect that high score either. She said the goal scoring binge just picked up more momentum as the game went on.
"We kept getting through balls and I made almost every shot. It just kind of happened."
Kampa had her first hat trick locked up by halftime as Shawano led 4-3. And she struck immediately in the opening minute of the second half, tying the contest at 4-all after stealing the first pass of the half and driving for the score. She secured the second hat trick soon after, and almost completed the other.
"She's a natural forward, so scoring goals comes easy to her. She's basically been the top goal scorer the last two years and she already has colleges looking at her," Everett said. "She's quick, she has natural speed and she has learned you don't need to strike the ball as hard as possible to get it into the net. She's now getting 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper and placing the ball into the corner."
It wasn't even halfway to the national record of 18 goals in a game, set by Jennifer Brelage of Bardstown (Ky.) in 2002 according to the National Federation of State High School Associations record book.
Kampa was an all-conference selection last season and made the second team her freshman year despite missing significant time with an injury. This year, she's scoring big and also living up to the demands of being a team leader, as Everett said even the seniors on the team look up to Kampa, who turns 17 next week.
While she has shown an interest in Michigan Tech, Kampa is keeping her college options open for the time being. And that's not just for soccer. She's also keeping a career choice up in the air, depending on where she decides to go.
"I would major in exercise science and technology at Michigan Tech," she said. "If I'm not there, then I would major in nursing to be a nurse practitioner or flight nurse."
