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McClung Repeats as Gatorade Virginia Girls Soccer Player of the Year

From staff reports

For Gate City junior soccer standout Anna McClung, the honors and trophies just keep piling up. Her most recent accolade was announced last week when The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, named McClung the Gatorade Virginia Girls Soccer Player of the Year for the second year in a row.

“It’s definitely an honor to get this award two years in a row,” said McClung. “I was hoping to be considered again this year – that was one of my goals.”

The returning Gatorade Virginia Girls Soccer Player of the Year, McClung has led the Lady Blue Devils to a 16-0 record so far this season.

“I also had some other goals like setting the record for most goals in a career and most goals in a season,” added McClung.

Currently she has scored a state-record 85 goals and passed for 18 assists through 16 games. She shattered her previous record of 65 goals in a season which she set her freshman year at Gate City.

The 17-year-old stellar player is also the state career record-holder with 212 goals, which she has tallied in just 49 starts. She was the 2011 Region D Player of the Year and a two-time Group A First team All-State selection.

“Anna is a great player,” said Lady Blue Devil head coach Chris Mann. “She is very dedicated to the sport and works hard for what she wants. I’m very proud of her for all the achievements that she has accomplished in her career. I’m just glad to have the opportunity to have her on our team.”

McClung spends most of her spare time training and honing her soccer skills. She was once again called up to train with the U.S. Soccer Federation Under-18 Women’s National Team at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. this June.

“Anna is a prolific goal-scorer,” said Brian Moore, McClung’s club coach with the Concorde (Ga.) Fire. “She has a potent shot from distance and finishes almost everything in the box. Her size and strength allow her to be a good target forward as well as one who can get in behind you.”

McClung is planning on graduating from Gate City High School in December and heads to Florida State in January where she plans to play an integral part in a Lady Seminole program that won the ACC, the nation’s strongest soccer conference, last season.

McClung is the daughter of Marcus and Lenoir McClung of Gate City and has a younger brother, Mac. She is the granddaughter Ford and Gail Quillen of Gate City and Marky and Michael McClung of Lewisburg, W.Va.

McClung’s family has excelled in the athletic arena over the years and she is carrying on the torch. Her grandfather, Ford Quillen, played football for the University of Tennessee and her father played football for Virginia Tech and later in Canada. Her uncle, Seth McClung, played major league baseball for seven years with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers. He still plays AAA ball in Milwaukee.