It was a play most onlookers wouldn’t think twice about. During a soccer game last fall, Merrimack Valley senior and center midfielder McKayla Palhof delivered a crisp pass across the field, only to discover that there wasn’t a teammate waiting on the receiving end to haul it in.
Justine Lombardi wasn’t like most onlookers. The St. Francis College women’s soccer coach was there in Penacook on a recruiting trip, using a keen eye to survey the field for even the most minute details.
While most saw a play and a pass that never developed, Lombardi saw something else entirely.
“I’ve been doing this long enough to know what I’m looking for,” Lombardi said. “It was like a brilliant pass and so smart. Her vision was excellent. … Most people probably would never notice or remember anything with that ball, but that’s a pass I want my players to make and it’s one she’s capable of making.”
That vision, the intelligence, the technical skills and Palhof’s run-through-a-wall on-field personality is what had Lombardi on a flight to New Hampshire in the first place.
The two had dinner the night before the game to get acquainted and after a campus visit to Brooklyn, N.Y., later that fall, Palhof – after careful consideration – signed her National Letter of Intent to attend St. Francis College and play for Lombardi in the newly formed Division I women’s soccer program.
“I’m super excited because it was something I always worked so hard for,” Palhof said. “I never expected to go to a Division I school, so when it finally happened I was just really ecstatic.”
Life inside the Palhof home revolves around the black and white ball.
“Really all we do is soccer. It consumes every waking moment that we have,” said Andy Palhof, McKayla’s father and longtime coach.
McKayla practically began playing the game since the moment she could walk. She spent the bulk of her childhood growing up in between the white lines with her dad right by her side coaching at GPS Capital Alliance FC of Concord, a highly competitive club soccer program which Andy now serves as co-director.
“I started playing when I was 4 or 5 and I always loved it because I played with my older sister and my dad coached,” McKayla said. “It was just always something I looked forward to and was fun for me.”
That older sister was Kaliana, another former MV standout who recently completed her freshman season as a striker for the women’s soccer team at Keene State.
While it was fun for McKayla and Kaliana, the two drove their parents crazy at times, as most kids do.
“The competition level with the two of them growing up used to drive us nuts,” Andy said. “They both would really go at it when they trained and so I’d always end up having to put them on the same team when we scrimmaged.”
That dynamic also pushed both to develop their skills at a rapid rate.
“We work out together so if one of us does just one thing a little bit better, the other always wants to beat them after,” McKayla said. “It’s the same with soccer. If one of us is better at a certain move or something, the other will want to get better at it.”
The constant training, the restrictive diet that enabled her body to perform the way she wanted and her commitment to the classroom was starting to pay off for McKayla.
And her reputation as a skilled midfielder was only growing.
McKayla eventually moved up to the top GPS National Premier League team, helping lead the club to a championship. She was checking all the boxes at the high school level, too. A four-year varsity player for Merrimack Valley, McKayla immediately caught on as a starter, then a captain and eventually a team MVP. She was part of the NHIAA D-II All-State team in her senior season, the same year she was selected to play for Team New Hampshire in the Lions Cup, an All-Star event against Vermont for the top graduating seniors.
“I’m typically like a technical player. I mostly like to use my moves and stuff. I like to get the ball, maybe do a move and then give it up,” McKayla said. “I’m always looking ahead at the next person I want to pass it to. But my technical ability is probably my favorite part. My dad taught me at a young age all the moves I know.”
Her rise, though, didn’t come without sacrifice. The nonstop on-the-go mentality is often what separates good from great, and McKayla was no different.
“I feel like I’ve sacrificed a lot because I always have to train and practice,” she said. “I always eat super healthy because I want to be in the best shape, so I sacrificed a lot of things that other people might not do.”
Last June, the women’s soccer program became the 21st NCAA Division I team for St. Francis College and Lombardi was selected as the head coach to lead the team in its inaugural season.
“The players that are coming in this year are building the entire foundation for a program that’s hopefully going to last hundreds of years and do really well in the future,” Lombardi said. “We’re kind of setting the culture in year one so I think it’s really important with the type of people that we’re bringing in.”
As Lombardi began recruiting, diligently pouring through video to fill out her roster, McKayla caught the coach’s eye.
“Regardless of when I finally signed her, McKayla was one of my very first recruits,” Lombardi said. “Of course there’s a lot of pressure to get the kids in, but I was patient and I think it paid off in the long run. When I was recruiting her, I think we had maybe three players committed.”
That number is up 24 now, a credit to Lombardi’s relentless – and slightly different – approach.
The Northeast Conference, known for its physical style of play, is one Lombardi knows well. She was a four-year player at Quinnipiac before later joining the coaching staff as an assistant.
Lombardi wants players who can handle that physicality, but also wants those with a little bit more to offer. As a result, she left no stone unturned.
“One of the reasons I was able to find McKayla so late is because nobody is looking up in that area of New Hampshire. Those are all the avenues I went through to find my players,” Lombardi said.
And Lombardi believes she found a good one in McKayla.
“You can tell she was coached by her dad growing up because he probably had her on the ball 24/7,” Lombardi said. “She’s smart. She loves the game. She’s tough and she’s a sweetheart.”
(Jay McAree can be reached at 369-3371, jmcaree@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JayMcAree.)