Deerfield’s Emily Fox showed she had the potential to score goals at an early age.
At least when she wasn’t a goalkeeper.
“My dad was a big soccer player, so he wanted me to start young,” Fox said. “He was a goalie, so he wanted me to be a goalie. I liked it a lot at first. It was fun diving and getting balls and saving goals.”
But Fox’s father, Scott, said it became clear her speed made her better suited for other positions.
“She was a good athlete, but you could see she was a much better field player,” Scott Fox said. “She was faster than a lot of the other girls.”
So Emily Fox was turned loose on opposing goalkeepers, and she has been scoring goals ever since. The Saint Louis recruit recently completed her four-year varsity career with a program-record 102 goals, including 20 game-winners, and 42 assists.
Fox, the 2024 News-Sun Girls Soccer Player of the Year, recorded 29 goals and nine assists during her senior season despite double teams and physical defense from opponents as the Warriors (17-6-2) won at least 15 games for the fourth straight season. The midfielder was named all-conference in the Central Suburban for the fourth time and all-state by the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association for the third time.
“Emily is very driven,” Deerfield coach Rich Grady said. “She’s not the fastest kid and is not physically dominant in terms of running over people or overpowering them. She’s in phenomenal shape and will not be outworked. Her skill on the ball is the best I’ve seen in a player I’ve coached.”
Deerfield junior forward Ryane Emory, who had 10 goals and six assists this season, said Fox’s work ethic rubbed off on teammates.
“I learned how to be a harder-working player and was inspired to push through a lot of things because that’s what she does,” Emory said. “She never stops and will always keep working.”
Grady noted Fox can do more than score goals.
“She was the focal point of our offense,” Grady said. “Everybody knew who she was, so she wasn’t going to surprise any teams. If the game called for her to score a couple of goals, she would do that. Or she would facilitate and set up her teammates. She was very unselfish.”
Fox said she actually struggled with confidence in her first two seasons, but scoring two goals during the Warriors’ loss to Benet in the 2022 Class 2A state semifinals was a turning point.
“I started playing with more confidence,” she said. “It really helped in that aspect. I worked really hard because I had the goal to play in college. I turned into more of a leader in my junior year and became a captain. I had to adjust to not worrying about myself and how I was playing because I had to help my teammates. They were looking at me as a leader.”
Fox said she also hit the weight room.
“I definitely worked on my strength,” she said. “That was my biggest weaknesses in my freshman and sophomore year. I’m not that tall or big, so that definitely helped a lot. I used to get pushed around a lot in games, kicked in the ankles, got fouled a lot. I had to get tougher and stronger. I learned a lot from that.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
