If you ask people familiar with the Mahar Regional School girls’ soccer team what makes senior forward Kenzie Tenney a great soccer player, there are plenty of things to point out.
The most eye-popping thing is her gaudy career statistics — 90 goals and 27 assists — which puts her second on the school’s all-time scoring list with 117 points.
You could also look at her work ethic, or any of the awards she has picked up over the years, or the fact that she was the leading offensive threat for a Senators’ team that went 12-5-1 in the regular season this fall, but there is one more thing that her coach believes sets her apart from the rest.
“She treats everyone the same, which is one of the things I respect about her the most,” Mahar head coach Chad Softic said. “She’s a phenomenal, phenomenal kid, who was clearly brought up well.”
All of those things led to Tenney becoming the first girls’ soccer player from Mahar to be named to the Massachusetts All-State team, and she was honored recently at the Storrowtown Carriage House in West Springfield along with the other nominees from western Mass.
“It’s crazy,” Tenney said of winning the award. “I didn’t think I would be the first one out of everyone who has been through Mahar.”
Being a 100-point scorer for her career and being named to the All-State team could easily go to someone’s head, but not Tenney, who said she tries hard to treat everyone the same because she can remember how it felt when she joined the varsity team at such a young age.
“I was always really scared of the older girls,” Tenney joked. “But they were always there to help me and I wanted to give that back. I always want everyone on my team to know I will be there for them.”
As for her playing skills, Softic said that Tenney has come a long way since she came to the team as an eighth-grader, and that’s not to say she wasn’t already noticeable on the field back then. Tenney started as a striker on Day 1 of her eighth-grade year, but at that time she was a great athlete as much as anything. Over the years, and through a lot of hard work, Tenney has strengthened her soccer skills and is a complete player, which Softic said is a credit to her.
“She kind of came to us as an athlete, and she has worked at it,” he said. “She took the time in the offseason and has become an electric striker. She’s as easy a player as I’ve ever had to coach. She doesn’t say boo, she’s dependable, she works hard, and she’s obviously very talented.
“She’s worked hard and developed her skills right before our eyes, and it didn’t happen overnight, but over time she developed a feel for the game and her ball skills have improved dramatically over the years,” added Softic. “She does it so effortlessly. Some of the goals, it leaves you scratching your head like, ‘How did she get that shot off?’”
The 117 career points leaves her 11 shy of Jill Waters’ all-time career mark of 128 points at the school. She would have likely exceeded that number if she didn’t miss her entire junior season due to a torn ACL. Even though she was unable to play that season, she stayed to true to her word and showed up every day to be there for her teammates.
“When she went down last season, she was there cheering on her teammates at every practice and game,” Softic said. “Even when it got cold, she kept coming out.”
And she capped off her illustrious high school career with the All-State Award. Softic said that the process of being named to the All-State team only helped validate how successful she was this season. There are seven All-State awards handed out to Division III players in western Mass., and all the coaches get together at the end of season meeting and discuss the players.
“You basically have to explain why your player is better than theirs,” Softic said. “But I was able to present Kenzie, and then other coaches who have had to defend her this season also stood up and explained how she is an absolute nightmare to deal with. It was nice to hear other coaches validate how I feel about her.”
And her soccer career is not over. Tenney is deciding between several colleges to attend next fall, and the decision includes both Division II and III programs.
“The process has been good and stressful at the same time,” Tenney said. “There’s a lot of good schools. I’m really excited for the opportunity to play in college. It’s going to be different from high school, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Before that, she still has some high school time left, although she moves over from the pitch to the hardcourt, where she will star for the Senators’ basketball team this winter.