Someday, hopefully soon, Finley Miller can finally see the St. Hubert High School soccer team win a championship.
Miller is a senior center midfielder on the Bambies, the team that won the Catholic League championship a season ago.
And on that team, Miller was a key player, working hard on both sides of the field to make sure Hubert brought home its first championship in 25 years.
She was there. She was a huge part of it. She was one of the biggest reasons for it.
It would have really been nice to see it.
“During the PCL season, it was like the last game, I got punched in the face against Nazareth, it was totally an accident, but it broke my nose,” Miller said. “It wasn’t intentional, but I had to wear a mask in the championship game and I couldn’t see, it kept fogging up.
“I wore the mask in the championship game, and I got hit in the face with the ball once, I couldn’t really see. I had to play, I wasn’t going to miss that game. Nothing was keeping me from playing in that game. I would have played with a broken leg. But people kept calling me Joel Embiid. I thought it was funny. I was just glad we won.”
Miller not only played in the championship, she had a huge part in bringing the trophy back to the school after a quarter-century.
Now her goal is to keep it there.
Miller is once again starting in the midfield for the Bambies, who are looking good when it comes to defending their championship.
The Bambies are 2-0 on the young season, but in the always-tough Catholic League, they’re just one of two teams without a blemish in the early going.
It looks good, but winning this year will be just as difficult as winning last year, when the Bambies knocked off defending Catholic League champion Archbishop Wood in the final.
The Vikings are once again a top team. So is Nazareth. As is Ryan. And Conwell-Egan, O’Hara and Lansdale Catholic.
The Bambies still have the advantage of being the defending champions, and while they did see a lot of good players from last year’s title team graduate, they also return a good core of last year’s team, so they have the talent and the experience to make another run at the championship plaque.
“For this year, we did have a lot girls graduate this year, so we lost some good players,” Miller said. “But besides that, it’s all the same. We are currently under pressure, everyone wants to get the title again, but we have a lot of good players and we’re working very hard.”
Miller knows it starts with her senior class.
The Bambies are loaded with talented underclassmen, but if the Bambies are going to win this year, they’ll need a strong performance from its senior class. Luckily, they have the pieces to make that happen.
Starting with Miller, who is willing to do anything.
“As a senior and captain, I have to be a leader and talk to the girls, and help us win,” Miller said. “Get the ball to the back of the net. I like to set my teammates up, usually like the playmaker. I’ve always done that. From when I was younger I came from a centerback, moved to center mid. It’s a lot of running, but worth it. I know what I have to do, and I love doing it. I love getting everyone involved.”
Soccer is Miller’s greatest love, but she also competes on the Bambies flag football team, where she’s a running back.
It’s definitely different from playing soccer, but it helps to be a two-sport star.
“It was something new to try because I was playing basketball, but I decided I wasn’t playing anymore, so I wanted to do something else,” Miller said. “I’d say soccer is harder because it’s more mindset and skill. For flag football, if you know how to run, it’s easy.”
When she’s not starring for the Bambies, she’s helping people and preparing for her future.
“I do a CNA program, I have clinicals where I go to a nursing home and help out with the patients,” said Miller, who hopes to go to college and become a nurse while playing soccer after high school. “It’s something they provide at school, we had interviews and the principal decided I could do it. It means so much, it didn’t start yet, it starts in a few weeks. We have classes first, and in the spring we’ll do clinicals on Saturdays.
“I want to be a nurse, I don’t know why, I was interested in it. It was random, because nobody in my family is a nurse or anything. I think helping people plays a big part in it. And after college, I want to be a nurse anesthesiologist.”
Miller credits her coaches, along with her family, especially her parents, for keeping her on track and setting her up for success.
She still has many huge goals to accomplish before she leaves Hubert.
“I love that I picked Hubert, I couldn’t imagine any other school,” Miller said. “I’d love to have an undefeated season and a PCL win again. It felt so good it was probably the best feeling I ever had with my coaches and teammates.
“Last year meant a lot to me. The girls, I was best friends with all of them, and then we won the PCL. It was amazing. I’d love to do it again for my senior year.”
And maybe even see it this time. ••
