59 reasons to smile

from staugustine.com

Sam Scalf had one goal: to score lots of them.

The end result was a record-setting, 59-goal season that made the Bartram Trail junior an easy pick for St. Augustine Record St. Johns County girls soccer player of the year honors.

It was an explosive, unexpected season for the ultra-quick, always smiling Scalf.

But 59? Not even she saw that coming.

"I was really pumped to beat my record," said Scalf of a 40-goal sophomore season. "I was surprised to pass it (by) that much."

Scalf topped her own mark and landed in a class all by herself. She broke the St. Johns County mark of 55, set in 2006 by St. Augustine High School's Laura Ray. She'll open the 2009-10 season with 111 career goals and several major opportunities. Scalf will have a chance to not only break the Bartram career scoring record (Katelin Swift has 147), but also the county's career mark of 151, held by Ray. Not to mention, the Bears return nearly everyone from this season's 24-1-3 team.

"It was funny to see her, just around school and how bubbly and fun she is," said Bartram coach Jennifer West. "You don't think she has that kind of drive."

Putting her name into the great goal-scorer debate wasn't something Scalf started playing soccer for. The drive was mainly to keep up with her sister, Bri, a former Bartram volleyball star. And, Scalf wanted to make her own name in a new sport.

"I definitely learned from my sister," Sam said. "She wanted me to do really well. I saw her name in the paper all the time and I said, one day that's going to be me."

Scalf was actually just a ripple in the Bartram system as a freshman, scoring just two goals after a late-season junior varsity promotion.

Then came a learning experience as a sophomore, a 40-goal barrage that came out of nowhere.

"Before this year, she was good, but she'd kind of hide, you wouldn't notice her as much," said Ponte Vedra coach Dave Silverberg. "This year, she kind of blossomed. She scored an incredible goal against us to beat us. (Last year) she was unrealized potential. I don't think she knows how good she can be."

Even for a player coming off of an All-County season a year earlier, Scalf said her confidence took awhile to catch up. She wanted to be known as a scorer, like Swift, Ray, Menendez's Lauren Hopfensperger, or former Nease stars Lydia Sturgis and Jenna Silverberg. But Scalf needed to validate that she could actually push her name into a conversation that included some of the best goal scorers in county history.

She got her moment.

Scalf's signature came in the Bears' 18th game of the season. She had a hat trick to beat Class 3A state runner-up Bolles, 3-2. The game-winner was her 40th goal of the season. West said that game was proof that Scalf had arrived.

"When I look at a goal scorer, I say 'What are the teams that they're scoring against,' " West said. "When she scored three goals in the Bolles game ... for her to step up in a game like that. I think it came down to experience. (In 2008) she was a little timid. It was still a great year, I'm not taking anything away from that. She didn't come out of her shell until this year."

Scalf would go on to break Ray's single-season mark with a four-goal game against Ed White.

"I think it is very difficult, myself, to just stand out (on Bartram), everyone helped me stand out," Scalf said. "When it came to me breaking the (county record) they were all looking for me, looking to pass the ball to me. They really wanted me to get it."

It wasn't all about the personal success for Scalf.

Bartram had one of the best starts in county history, opening the season with a 24-0-3 mark and simply tearing teams apart. Not even any of the four-time state champion Nease teams went unbeaten through the regular season. Then came a forgettable Class 5A regional semifinal against Fleming Island. The Bears managed just one goal, missed a half-dozen shots in the final two minutes and lost 2-1.

"Actually, that's our quote for next year, unfinished business," she said. "We were definitely upset. It took us awhile to get over and look back at it. That's our unfinished business."