Before her next chapter, Haley Noblit hopes to leave Greencastle with one last stellar run

Greencastle-Antrim soccer and basketball have reached massive heights over the past few years.

Both teams made the district title game last year, with basketball claiming the win. The soccer team made it all the way to the state semifinals.

Through it all, three athletes led the way — Mia Libby, Rylee Henson and Haley Noblit. But now, Libby and Henson have graduated, leaving Noblit to continue that success. But it’s fair to say that she is up for the challenge.

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In the first two games of the season, she has scored seven of the team’s 10 goals. In the past, players like Libby could take the offensive load off of Noblit. But not anymore.

“I definitely feel like there’s a lot of pressure …” Noblit said. “There will be times where I may need to step up and step into that captain role and take over games. But I’m really thankful to have a team that supports me in that and helps me do that.”

Her father and Greencastle head coach, Christopher Noblit, said that this year will be very different compared to previous ones.

“She has to do more than what she’s been asked to do in the last few seasons,” Chris Noblit said. “She feels the pressure, and she’s just going to have to play through it.”

There are many players who remain from last year’s squad alongside Noblit — Maddie Koons, Shaina Overcash, Alexis Nelson, among others.

But it’s a young team. So, to reach the heights of a season ago will be hard to match.

“It’s just a new year, and we’re worrying about our own goals,” Noblit said. “Just focus on this season and what we can accomplish.”

With a young team, Noblit not only has to be the leader when it comes to production, but she also has to be the leader when it comes to her voice.

In the past, Henson and Libby provided that leadership. And the type of leaders they were makes Noblit’s job easier, as she took note of how it’s done.

“They always brought it in every practice and every game,” Noblit said. "There wasn’t anything that they didn’t want to go hard in, and that hopefully carries over.”

She is a leader on and off the field, which helped her get to where she can continue her athletic career beyond Greencastle.

Noblit will continue her soccer career at Liberty University in Virginia. She announced her commitment back in March, making sure that when the season started, that wasn’t a distraction.

“[The recruiting process] was a lot, but in the end, looking back on it, it was a lot of fun,” Noblit said. “I’m just so thankful for all of the hours I put in and the sacrifices I made to get me to this spot … It’s just nice to have that weight off my shoulders and just focus on soccer and getting better.”

Her father maybe would have wanted her to take a little bit more time, but he was confident that she would make the right decision.

“I’m happy and proud of her, and I left it completely 100 percent up to her,” Chris Noblit said. “I didn’t want to steer her in one direction or the other. I told her in the beginning to narrow her list, look at the good and bad of each school, pray about it and we’ll go from there.”

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But even if the decision came a bit early, Haley felt that she had taken enough time to make a decision.

“I definitely took my time, because I didn’t want to rush it and make the wrong decision,” Noblit said. “I just let it happen and trusted in God that he would help me make the right decision.”

Her faith, with the prospect of playing alongside girls who shared in her faith, made Liberty the right place to be.

“The majority of the players and people there have many of the same beliefs as me,” Noblit said. “So to be in a place where I can be myself and worship God and do everything for Him was really important to me.”

But before she gets to Liberty and strictly focuses on soccer, she’ll be making a quick pitstop back to the hardcourt.

Noblit, who made the All-State third team a season ago, will return to the Blue Devils girls' basketball team for her senior season.

“I love playing basketball, so giving it up would be one of the hardest things I’d have to do, so I’m glad I don’t,” Noblit said. “Club coaches, they don’t understand or like that I play basketball during their time, so it does make it hard, but it’s my senior season. I’ve been doing it my whole life so why can’t I do it now?”

Like in soccer, it was the trio of her, Libby and Henson that is now down to one, but by that point, she’ll be used to it.

But while she’s controlling the hardwood, she’ll still be working with her club soccer team and doing what she can to make sure she’s ready when she arrives at Liberty in the summer.

And her dad knows there’s still work to do.

“She can never sit still and think she’s there,” Chris Noblit said. “She’ll understand that when she gets on campus, but the more she can develop before she gets on campus, the easier it’ll be for her, because she’s gonna see that those girls can play.”

Liberty, a Division I program in Conference USA, is at the time of writing 6-0 on the season, having beat West Virginia last week.

But no matter what she accomplishes in the rest of her athletic career, she is nothing but grateful for her time in Greencastle and the success that she has already had.

“I wouldn’t have been able to have the type of career or success or overall joy that I’ve had playing high school sports anywhere else besides Greencastle,” Noblit said. “The environment here and the people I get to play with, the coaches, the school spirit. I was definitely blessed with where I got to go to high school, so it’s definitely going to be something to miss.”

This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: Haley Noblit enters final season at Greencastle soccer before Liberty