Tumwater’s Hallie Bergford is The Olympian’s All-Area girls soccer player of the year
Upside.
It’s a projection scouts in any sport make when evaluating an athlete for college recruiting or a professional draft. Can a player get better?
When it comes to Tumwater High School’s senior forward Hallie Bergford, the answer has always been yes.
Seattle University saw it and made Bergford one of the centerpieces of its 2020 recruiting class.
“Hallie is one of those special players who keep getting better,” Redhawks coach Julie Woodward said after Bergford signed her letter of intent.
By the numbers, by the intangibles, Bergford proved it during her four years at Tumwater, going from a defense-only player who scored one goal as a freshman to a deadly striker who netted 36 goals as a senior, earning The Olympian’s 2019 All-Area player of the year honors.
She becomes the first Tumwater player to receive the honor since Katie Bergquist in 2010, and only the third player ever selected from a school other than Olympia or Black Hills.
Beyond statistics, Bergford expanded her soccer IQ by playing every position on the field for the T-Birds, even spending a few minutes in goal this year.
She wasn’t exactly held to that single goal her first season.
“She’s always been a good forward, but her freshman year we needed another center back and she said ‘I can do that,’ ” said Tumwater co-coach Brett Bartlett, who shares the position with John Hayes.
The next two seasons, Tumwater had scorers such as Cassity Colard and Rilee Stillings to find the net.
“We had forwards who could score, but we needed someone to get the ball to them. We didn’t have any creative influence in the middle of the park, so we put Hallie there,” Bartlett said.
Bergford settled in for a two-year run as a first-team All-Area midfielder, scoring 18 goals of her own and picking up 20 assists combined during her sophomore and junior years. She didn’t give up passing as a senior, picking up eight assists to pair with those 36 goals.
Again, Bergford went with the flow, moving to the front with talented freshmen like Kaari Little and Cierra Larson available to get her the ball.
“This year we had young players in the middle of the field who could find Hallie, which means she was running at people and attacking spaces,” Bartlett said.
At just over 5-foot-10, Bergford acknowledges her physical gifts but, like Bartlett, points to her work ethic as key to her development.
“I’m always running, always working hard,” she said. “I’ve got good vision for the field and good touch. I bring other players into the flow.”
“Hallie’s got size, speed and intelligence,” Bartlett said. “She has the ability to create shots for herself and score with either foot. She’s good in the air. She’s dangerous in a lot of ways.”
Bergford also has a lifetime of soccer experience. She began playing at 4 years old as part of what she calls a “soccer family.” Her dad, Peter, played at Northwest University and professionally in Norway.
Though she was also a competitive swimmer during elementary school, when her life began to get too hectic around age 12, soccer was the sport she kept. Outside of high school, she plays for Black Hills FC and will go to training camp during January in Florida with a USA youth soccer national team that will head to France and Britain later in 2020.
The vibe around this season’s Tumwater team — which finished 16-3-1 and a game short of the Class 2A state tournament after breezing through the 2A Evergreen Conference undefeated — sums up why Bergford loves the sport.
“The best thing about our team is the friendships and the laughter,” she said. “There are so many different personalities but we’re all out here doing what we love.”
That the T-Birds outscored opponents, 41-1, during league play, recording nine shutouts, came as a bit of surprise.
“I wasn’t sure how good we’d be because the previous years we hadn’t been as strong, but I was really excited when we got some freshmen who had skills,” Bergford said. “I was more optimistic this year, but I didn’t know we’d play that well.”
Heading into the Division I ranks for a Seattle U team which won a second consecutive Western Athletic Conference championship before being knocked out of the NCAA tournament by crosstown rival Washington, 1-0, Bergford knows what she needs to improve on.
“Fitness is always something I can work on,” she said. “I also want to get better at balls in the air. I want to be scoring more header goals since I’m taller than most of the other girls.”
Bergford made several unofficial visits to Seattle U before choosing the Redhawks. It wasn’t love at first sight, but her official visit earlier in the fall sealed the deal as she found more of the good feeling among teammates she’s enjoyed at Tumwater.
“I love the coaching staff,” she said. “The girls on the team were so nice and welcoming and honestly hilarious. They were super close and I love that.”
The uniqueness of Seattle U’s urban campus also made an impression.
“It’s a little city within a city,” Bergford said. “There are a lot of businesses around it, but if you go into the heart of it, it’s quiet and surrounded by trees.”
Woodward, Seattle U’s coach for the past 23 years, sees no reason Bergford won’t help the Redhawks keep their recent run of success going.
“Her hold-up play and goal-scoring really caught our attention and we can’t wait to see her score goals on Championship Field,” Woodward said.
PAST OLYMPIAN ALL-AREA GIRLS SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
2000: Michelle Sanders, Centralia
2001-04: None selected
2005: Fran Janny and Rachel Janny, Olympia
2006-07: None selected
2008: Kelsey Fuik, Olympia
2009: Lexy Fancher, Black Hills
2010: Katie Bergquist, Tumwater
2011: Lexi Fesenbek, Olympia
2012: Olivia Brock, Olympia
2013: Whitney Lowe, Black Hills
2014: Megan Spataro, Olympia
2015: Joslin Lindsay, Black Hills
2016: Jenna Killman, Olympia
2017: Sydney Lowe, Black Hills
2018: Landry McCann, Olympia