Last Laugh for Langner

Placer Girls Soccer Spotlight, By Todd Mordhorst, Journal Sports WriterFor most soccer players from Placer and Del Oro, tonight?s game at LeFebvre Stadium will be the highlight of their week and even their careers. For Placer?s Ivy Langner, the high point in her career will likely arrive a few days later. Langner?s high school soccer career will come to an end when the Hillgals square off with Del Oro in the Sierra Foothill League finale for both teams at 7 p.m. Langner will then play in another important contest, the California State Cup Championship game, Sunday in Livermoore with her under-19 club team, the ?83 Spirit of the San Juan Soccer Club.The State Cup title game is an enormous contest with most of the participants, including Langner, who will head off to play major college soccer next year. The game is an enormous event in the soccer community and should draw hundreds, even thousands of fans.But Langner isn?t ignoring tonight?s grudge match with Del Oro.?Tonight?s game will probably be the pinnacle of my high school career,? she said. ?It?s our last game. We?re watching (the movie) ?Remember the Titans? after school for inspiration. It was supposed to be a day game, but we asked them if we could play in the stadium for our last game.?The Hillgals have been decimated by injuries late in the season. Placer will have just one substitute, a call-up from the JV squad, and many of its players are not at 100 percent. Langner is suffering from strep throat, but she?ll lace ?em up for her final high school contest.After four years with the varsity squad, Langner has built a reputation around the SFL as a dangerous player. She isn?t a physically imposing presence on the field at first glance. But after a few minutes of watching her play, defenders begin to get nervous.?She?s 5-foot-1 and everybody is afraid of her,? said Placer coach Jeff Moore. Langner is feared for her goal-scoring abilities. As a junior, she hit the back of the net 15 times. Her eight goals this season have her tied for the team lead with Danielle Bengston, but she?s hoping to add to that total tonight.?? Not good this year compared to last year, but I?ll just score like eight (in the last game) and bring myself back up,? Langner joked.Langner and Bengston, a sophomore, have been a great combination up front for the Hillgals. Moore said Langner?s competitiveness has rubbed off on Bengston, who is a promising young forward.?It?s good to have someone up there that?s working just as hard as you are,? Langner said of her fellow frontrunner.Langner has the speed and finishing ability of a good attacker. What makes her great is her goal-scoring know-how.?I have vision on the field and I can get around defenders with my speed and just because they don?t know what I?m going to do,? she said. ?I play high school because I just like to play and I like the girls. Club is different because the only time you?re around your teammates is to play. ?I know at least one girl from every team in the league and its fun to play against them.?Langner said she developed personal rivalries with several players around the SFL, including Oakmont goalkeeper Brianna Vaughn, whom she used to play with in club soccer.?When we played Oakmont, all I wanted to do was score,? Langner said. ?The first time we played them I was so frustrated because I had two breakaways and I just kicked them right to her.?Then, the second time we played them, I scored and that was probably the most gratifying goal of the season,? she added with a laugh.Langner has played against rivals and with family. Her older sister, Karla Langner, was a solid player at Placer before graduating two years ago. Ivy said playing with her sister was a great experience, especially during her freshman season when she realized that she wanted to play at a high level.?After my freshman year I started playing more seriously,? she said. ?That was kind of like the beginnning of my actual career in soccer.?That career will continue next year at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, La. The school has an enrollment of 16,000 and the Lady Lions play at the highest level of college soccer.?I thought it would be the most amazing thing to play (NCAA) Division I soccer,? said Langner.?I think she?ll shine at the next level, she?ll make several more steps of improvement,? added Moore.Langner will join Folsom product Ashley Cartwright at SLU next year. The two are teammates on the ?83 Spirit. Langner plans on studying business and eventually going into advertising. She said she would like to make TV commercials, such as those for Gatorade or the basketball ones for Nike but with a soccer theme.With her high school career coming to a close, Langner seems to have everything in perspective.?It?s sad, but it?s also inevitable,? she said. ?I just want to go out on a good note.?