By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Erin Hallis calls herself a player who will lead by example.

Eric Sway, the Crestwood girls soccer head coach, does not disagree.

He describes Hallis, his senior standout, as a player who is driven in the most quiet of ways.

Quiet with her words, maybe, but her game makes plenty of noise.

She has spent the last eight weeks scoring at a record-setting rate.

Both at the state level and in the history of the Red Devils’ girls soccer program.

Individually, Hallis has 28 goals this season and 14 assists, which sets a new single-season school record for points in a season with 70 — with games still remaining.

Hallis also has the Devils’ single-game goal-scoring record that she has now set twice.

She first set the record with six in an 11-1 victory over Ravenna on Aug. 29.

Less than a month later, in a 12-1 win over Brookfield on Sept. 21, Hallis pushed the school record to seven, which is also the sixth-most goals ever scored in a single game in Ohio history.

The seven goals also are the most ever scored in a single game in Portage County history, tying the seven scored by Waterloo’s Kaira English in a triumph over Liberty on Sept. 12, 2022.

Remember, quiet in words only.

“Erin is extremely controlled and she is one of the hardest working players I have ever coached in my career,” Sway said. “She is extremely driven in the most quiet of ways. She can adjust to the pressure, game play and moment of the game in physicality, competitiveness or strategy.”

While the numbers bring attention to Hallis individually, she is quick to shift the spotlight to her teammates, especially the seven other seniors that have been her teammates for close to a decade.

The group includes her twin sister Alyssa, Addi Harper, Lilly Stoots, Taylor Larch, Dakota Rennecker, Ava Julian and Delaney McMahon.

“We’ve been playing together for a long time,” Hallis said. “Ever since we played for MSA (Mantua Soccer Association). We have grown up together playing soccer and having them along with me has made the sport a lot more fun.”

The fun has included back-to-back Chagrin Valley Conference championships in 2022 and 2023.

“Erin and her senior class pretty much control the entire culture of this team and program,” Sway said. “With Erin and her teammates being a large graduating class of eight, this class has, in all honesty, been the focal point of the culture for three years now. There are eight different, strong individual views, attitudes, thoughts, beliefs and competitiveness for everything. They have lifted up the girls program in every way possible, creating a successful culture and expectations of success.”

For Hallis, setting expectations that most would consider challenging is just part of her daily life.

It would be difficult to find a high-school senior who has a busier schedule.

On top of her soccer games and training, she has also ran cross country for the Devils since her sophomore season. She has high-school classes, but also takes multiple College Credit Plus courses at a local college and also has a part-time job.

Despite moving in all directions, Hallis maintains excellence across the board, which comes as no surprise to Sway.

“Erin will give you 110 percent no matter what the situation is, the outcome of the game and no matter how she feels health wise,” he said.

Remember, a leader by example.

And there might not be a better one to follow.