Perhaps the best way to describe the impact that Maggie Motolese had on the Northwestern girls soccer team is to look at what her coach and teammates have had to say about her.

Coach Kelly Bleam has used words like “great” and “awesome” to describe the play and impact that Motolese has had on the program.

Teammate Sara Hathaway, a great soccer player in her own right, described Motolese as “amazing.”

Hathaway, who was part of a high-scoring tandem with Motolese, had high praise for her teammate earlier this season. After Hathaway scored four goals in a win over Southern Lehigh this season, she said, “Maggie assisted on a lot of my goals and she always seems to be in the right spot and make the right play.”

“We played high school soccer together and also played on the same club team for four years,” said Motolese of her soccer teammate Hathaway. “We’re best friends and we always had that sort of thing where we’ve always just known where each other was on the field, and we’ve always been able to pass to each other’s feet.”

The two friends and Northwestern teammates now have something else in common — the Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Girls Soccer Player of the Year Award.

The 2018 honor is going to Motolese, just one year after Hathaway captured the award.

This past season, Motolese topped her spectacular 2017 season with an even more explosive offensive performance.

After scoring 22 goals as junior, she eclipsed that with a 30-goal performance this year. But Motolese wasn’t just a scorer, as she added a team-high 17 assists for the Tigers as well.

Her outstanding career and incredible senior numbers have drawn plenty of attention from colleges.

Motolese hasn’t made a definite college choice yet, but has received scholarship offers from multiple Division 1 programs. St. Francis Brooklyn is currently Motolese’s most likely destination

Motolese, who said playing Division 1 soccer has been a longtime goal, is hoping that her years in college will be as fun and productive as her time at Northwestern.

“Being a part of this program for four years has definitely been a great experience,” Motolese said. “It’s been my favorite part of high school. Playing together, and then hanging out together off the field has been a lot of fun.”

As for games that stand out during her high school career, Motolese points to a state playoff win over Central Columbia during the Tigers’ incredible 2017 run to the PIAA semifinals as one of her top memories.

In that game, Motolese was involved in all three goals, scoring twice and assisting on the other, as Northwestern pulled out a 3-2 victory. The two goals came early in the game and put Northwestern out to a 2-0 lead. The assist came when she fed Hathaway off a corner for what would prove to be the game-winner.

“Scoring in state playoffs was a really cool experience, and I’ll always look back on that as one of my favorites,” she said.

With her high school career now finished and her college career moving closer on the horizon, Motolese reflected back on her early introduction to soccer.

“I basically started to kick the ball around as soon as I was physically able,” she said.

By the time she was three, she was already starting to develop her skills of kicking the ball while on the run. She continued to develop those skills and before long, playing high school soccer was her dream.

After capping off an incredible career full of individual and team success at Northwestern, she is now focusing on the next goal.

“I always just loved the game and thought, ‘I want to play this for as long as I can,’” said Motolese. “When I got to high school, I loved playing at that level and said ‘I want to play at college, too.’”

Before her high school days are over, Motolese is taking on one more endeavor — playing basketball. She was introduced to the game by a middle school teacher and always loved to play, but chose to focus on soccer through high school.

“I just thought that for my senior year, ‘why not?’” said Motolese. “I’m really enjoying it and It’s been a great experience to get to play in my senior year. Soccer will always be my first love, but I enjoy playing basketball and it’s a great group of girls, too.”

After four years of excelling with the ball at her feet for the Northwestern soccer program, Motolese is now going to see what she can do with it in her hands for the basketball team. One thing that she has definitely proven during her career is that she knows how to score, and how to help others score. They are two traits that could come in handy in her new sport.