Nipmuc Regional's Kyah Montano scores 100th career goal

UPTON – She outkicked her coverage.

The milestone appeared a mile away. But Kyah Montano arrived quicker than expected, though was it really a surprise?

Scoring a “haul” of goals against an undefeated team that allowed just seven all season seemed preposterous. Montano, however, pulled off the ridiculous – again.

The Nipmuc senior scored four goals – a feat known as a haul in soccer circles - on Friday against Lunenberg. The final one in a 5-0 victory put her career total at 100.

“No one thought I was going to get four goals that game,” Montano said before practice on Monday. “All my friends said they were going to make posters and stuff. They were like, ‘No way you’re scoring four goals this game.’ They were going to have it ready for the next game.”

But when Friday's match ended, Montano smiled for a photo carrying the century ball while standing in front of three gold balloons that enumerated the occasion: 1-0-0.

Someone was prepared for the big moment.

“That was my mom (Sarah), actually,” Kyah said.

While holding the ball she kicked in for goal No. 100, she explained on Monday what it meant to reach the rare summit.

“It means a lot to me,” she said. “It’s not just about me; it’s about my whole team. It proves that hard work does pay off. It’s a team sport for a reason, so I don’t take ownership for all 100 goals. Definitely, my team plays a big role.”

Lunenburg entered the game with a 14-0-1 record and hadn’t allowed more than one goal in a game. The Blue Knights had 10 shutouts.

But Montano kept filling the net, though she wasn’t aware that she arrived on the doorstep of triple digits.

“I wasn’t sure if I was at 99 or not – I don’t keep track of my goals. I just score for the team," she said. "As soon as I heard everyone cheering after I scored that last goal, I knew I’d reached 100. My team made me feel great about it. It just shows what a great overall team environment we have.”

Montano, a club player for NEFC, will play at Division 1 High Point University in North Carolina next fall. She also considered North Carolina-Charlotte and Florida Gulf Coast, wanting to escape the cold of the Northeast.

“I love the warm weather,” she said. “(High Point) has the best school campus I've ever seen. I love the school, the team, the coaches. It’s the perfect place for me really.

“I’m super excited. College is a whole different level and I’m really excited to meet people from all over the country.”

She gave a big assist to NEFC for helping her land at High Point.

“They have made me the player I am today. The coaches are incredible; they helped me through the whole recruiting process. I couldn’t have done it without them," she said. "The whole level of how competitive it is – it's so different from high school and you can’t really get that anywhere else except club soccer.”

One of her teammates at High Point will be her NEFC teammate Faye Battersby, who plays for Marionapolis Prep in Thompson, Conn.

When it comes to international soccer, Montano admires the recently-retired Alex Morgan, who captained the US National Team and scored 123 career goals, and Julie Ertz, who wore No. 8 before she retired. (Montano wears 8 for NEFC and 3 for Nipmuc)

Montano has played the past three years at Nimpuc with her sister, Anya, a junior, who also suits up for NEFC.

“I love playing with her. I look up to her, she looks up to me, even though she’s a year younger,” Kyah said. “She inspires me in so many different ways – the way she plays, it’s just incredible. We have a special connection on the field that not many people have because you usually don’t play with your sister. It’s definitely something special playing with her.”

Nipmuc carries an impressive record into what has started as an impressive postseason. The Warriors are 15-1-1, their only loss coming in the second game of the season, 2-1, to Weston, the current top-ranked team in Division 3 whose only loss came Monday at Natick.

Nipmuc lost in the MIAA tournament last year in the Elite 8 to Dover-Sherborn on penalty kicks. But before starting another run at the state level, the Warriors play Northbridge (13-1-3) in the CMADA Class B championship Tuesday (7 p.m.) at Foley Stadium in Worcester.

A victory would be the fourth consecutive CMass title for Nipmuc. Montano, however, isn’t worried about scoring No. 101.

“That’d be amazing,” she said of a possible four-peat. “I want to do it for the team; I want to do it for all the seniors, the freshmen who just got here. I want them to have the experience I’ve had. It would mean so much to me to win it.”

Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.