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At least twice a season, for the past three years, Terry Law's Manheim Township girls' soccer team has faced Hempfield.
And by now, obviously, Law knows what to expect.
The Black Knights will likely be good. Real good.
It will likely be a defensive struggle, as so many L-L League Section One girls' soccer games usually are.
And finally, there's one particular person who cannot go unaccounted for.
"When we play Hempfield, we always know where she is," Law said of Hempfield senior striker Kelli Joline. "She's a handful."
Law apparently isn't the only person who noticed.
Joline was recently one of 82 players nationwide selected to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America High School Girls' All-America team for the 2009 calendar year.
Players who played in the spring and the fall were included in the selection process, which was completed in December.
Joline became eligible for the team via her selection to the NSCAA All-Region II East (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware) Team last year as a junior. It was her second straight All-Region appearance.
Joline is just the fourth Lancaster County girls' player to be named an NSCAA All-American, joining Penn Manor's Carli Brill (2003) and Kasie Shover (2005) and Conestoga Valley's Teresa Rynier (2007).
So, what makes Joline an All-America caliber player?
"She is a very good one-on-one player and she puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses with her speed," Hempfield girls' soccer coach Keith Nagley said. "She's also good on set pieces where she can bend a ball into goal. She's a silent leader with her work ethic and positive attitude."
There's another thing that's good news for Nagley and bad news for opposing coaches.
"She's very fit," Nagley said, "which enables her to play a lot of minutes."
Law and Penn Manor coach Bill Zapata are two of the people who have had to deal with containing Joline every year during the Section One campaign.
Last spring, Joline finished the season with 16 goals and nine assists, numbers that ranked among the best in Section One.
"She's tremendous in the sense that you never know what she's going to do next," Zapata said. "And she's fast. And she never gives up."
Law agrees that Joline's strengths lie well beyond her speed.
"She's one of those kids," Law said, "who kind of understands game situations ... she embraces big moments in games and she's not reluctant to take responsibility, which is a huge thing.
"Also, when she has the ball and goal scoring opportunities, she's a finisher, and there are not many of those out there. Good scorers are hard to find, and she's one of them."
For Joline, who will enter her senior season this spring with 38 goals and 18 assists for her career, the All-American selection topped a long list of accolades she's accumulated.
She was a two-time selection to the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association All-State Team (2008 and '09), and was a First Team Lancaster-Lebanon League Coaches All-Star pick in each of her first three seasons.
She was also selected to the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era All-League Team the last two seasons and was the Intell/New Era Girls' Soccer Player of the Year in 2008.
Joline was honored for her All-American selection at the NSCAA's annual convention on Jan. 16 in Philadelphia.
