2023 Fall High School Sports Preview: Refreshed Alex Miller heads Cheney girls soccer attack

A year after earning first-team All-Greater Spokane League honors as a sophomore, Cheney forward Alex Miller grabbed second-team honors last season.

It wasn’t the accolade that Miller wanted, but one she accepted as added extra motivation for her senior season.

“Hopefully, we’ll get back into the first-team area,” Cheney coach Nels Radtke said.

“I think she surprised a lot of people her sophomore year when she was first team because people didn’t know her. Last year, they knew about her, so they knew to key on her, but I think we’ve got some other players to support her that will help take pressure off.”

It will be important for Miller to find her sophomore form if Cheney is to make a run at the 3A league title and a state appearance.

Miller took a step back in the offseason, slowing down by not playing for her club, Spokane Sounders. She realized her feelings about soccer were shifting away from joy and love and more toward seeing it as a chore.

It was a calculated move that paid off.

“I definitely realized how much I do still love the sport and still want to play,” Miller said.

High school student-athletes can feel that burnout. With constant sport schedules becoming year-round productions, it can weigh on them.

Miller was letting the weight of expectations get her down.

“My junior year of high school, it just got really bad,” she said.

“A lot of it was me comparing my success from the year before and if I didn’t play well, I was upset about that. And I was just putting a lot of pressure on myself, which was making me play worse and not enjoy playing at all.”

Radtke noticed some period of frustrations as Miller tried to settle into a groove last season.

“That was something that was a struggle at first, but then, she’s a fighter, she just kept working and just took it as a challenge,” Radtke said.

“And she did really well with it still.”

Miller discussed the decision with her club coach, Noah White of the Sounders, who was understanding and thought it would be a good idea to step away.

Radtke agreed.

“That’s all just the maturity on her part,” Radtke said.

“It wasn’t something that I or anybody else I know recommended, it was just something that she saw and thought that she needed to take a break. It was the best thing that she could have done.”

Radtke has seen a more energized Miller on the practice field.

“It was awesome, just to see the joy of playing again back in her and just the love of being around her teammates,” Radtke said.

Miller expects to find her way back into the club ranks after the high school season .

“Right now, I’m feeling good about it,” she said.

For now, the senior forward serves as the player at the top of the Cheney attack.

Miller is a prolific goal scorer, which Radtke said is something that can’t be taught.

Anyone can put the ball in the back of the net, but only a select few have the ability to see the play a few steps ahead .

“That’s just something you either have or you don’t,” Radtke said.

Miller uses her speed to get behind opposing backlines. When she is faced up with an opponent, her quick feet allow her to get around defenders.

“She has a nose for the goal,” Radtke said.

Expect to see Miller’s name toward the top of the goal-scoring sheet in 2023, as the Blackhawks look to take a jump this season.

She also has taken on a leadership role as expected of seniors.

“She’s really embracing the fact that this is her senior season, she needs to be that leader,” Radtke said. “I’ve seen a big difference in her. That has been awesome.”

Miller said she’s seen others take on the leadership role.

“The younger kids are going to look up to you and look for your guidance, just because you’re older and you have more experience with the team,” Miller said.

“But there’s also a lot of players on my team who I do think are really good leaders, and I think most of our seniors have kind of stepped up to that leadership role.”

Cheney hasn’t selected its captains, so Miller thinks many people are taking on those roles as the season has opened.

Most of the players from a year ago return, so the messaging has been similar. The Blackhawks hope for different results with their experienced team.

Every player on the roster, minus one, was on varsity in 2022. That continuity will be an important factor for the challenging GSL schedule.

There are a few new faces in the starting lineup, so Miller admitted there may be an adjustment period as the team realizes its potential. Kylee Hahn and Ellerie O’Regan are expected to see time on the wings and will start for the first time, although both saw many minutes in 2022

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Grace Grumbly will direct the defense as one of the two centerbacks.

“She does an awesome job of just reading the field, pointing out where all the girls need to be and just helping control that backline,” Radtke said.

Paige Evans will connect those two lines .

“Last year, she hardly came out, she played all 80 minutes of most games,” Radtke said of Evans.

“And we really only brought her out on games where we were up big, and we wanted to get more girls in. She does a great job of just controlling and holding the midfield for us.”

Radtke has high expectations for the Blackhawks, who are looking to take the league by storm.

Three teams from 3A will advance to state, one more than in 2022.

“Our goal is to build off of last year as a fifth-place finish in the league,” Radtke said. “We want to do better than that, and I think we can.”

One benefit is the favorable draw in the Blackhawks’ schedule. They have top teams Mead, Mt. Spokane and Ridgeline at home, an advantage considering they are the only team in GSL 4A/3A to play on a grass field. The grass slows the game down, compared to turf, which Radtke thinks will be an advantage for the Blackhawks, who play on it every day.

Another boon could be the amount of reflection Radtke and his did over the tail end of last season and the offseason.

Early last season, the team felt a lot of unnecessary pressure to qualify for state. The girls admitted as much to Radtke midway through 2022.

“While getting back to state is a goal, it’s not our driving force,” Radtke said.

“Our driving force is to play as well as we can, to have as much fun as we can, because that truly is when we play our best.”