She has never scored a varsity goal, but you would be hard pressed to find a more important player for the Aberdeen Central girls’ soccer squad.

When Kirra Stillman hits the pitch, she brings an intensity level that is seldom matched, and the senior rarely exits the action until the final whistle blows.

The senior captain organizes the defense for the Golden Eagles from her center back position. She takes pride in helping to shut down opponents.

“Although we don’t get our names called out for scoring a lot of goals, we do a lot of work back on the defense,” Stillman said. “My main job is, I talk a lot if you ask my teammates. Some say it’s yelling, I also say it’s communicating, but I’m definitely the yeller of the team. But it’s mainly just keeping everybody in order, making sure we’re stepping at the right times. It’s a lot of communication back there.”

And when Stillman communicates, she speaks from experience. She has been a key part of the Hub City Soccer program since the age of 7.

“It’s something really special to me. I feel like ever since I was little, I’ve really put forth an effort to be a leader and communicate,” Stillman said. “I’ve always been the loud one even if my teammates don’t appreciate it. It means a lot.”

While the casual soccer fan may not appreciate all that Stillman brings to the pitch, Central coach Merle Aske knows how crucial Stillman is to the team.

“The biggest thing with her is she just has such a high desire to be out there even when she’s tired. It’s one of those things, that’s the type of person that you want,” Aske said. “If we could have 11 out there (like her) we would. She just does a good job of leading the girls. She’s a great kid and great student, and just does everything the right way.”

Stillman suffered a major knee injury about this time of the season last year in a game, wiping out a good share of her junior campaign. She said it was difficult being relegated to the sidelines and watching her team.

Of course, Stillman was still able encourage her teammates with a voice that resonates with them no matter where she is located.

“It was hard knowing that I wasn’t playing such an impactful role being out on the field,” Stillman said, “but I loved cheering my teammates on, so I still had a great time.”

She attacked physical therapy with the same intensity she plays with and was able to get back to the action for her senior season.

“I spent pretty much all of last year and into the summer working my way back up,” she said. “It was definitely a lot of hard work, but I had a lot people of helping me.”

Aske, for one, wasn’t surprised that Stillman was able to rehab and return to the action.

“That was a very severe injury she had last year, but she worked her tail off all winter, spring, and this summer she was kicking the ball around quite a bit, probably sooner than she probably should have been,” Aske said. “But the biggest thing is she did everything she needed to in rehab to get to back to where she needed to be. She just has that drive and desire to be a leader, and that’s what we expect out of her and what we expect from our seniors.”

And make no mistake, Stillman is not one to shy away from contact, injury or not.

“I get told a lot by my teammates during practice that I’m quite pushy, but I don’t think I am,” Stillman said, “so I don’t know.”

The physical nature of soccer is something that Stillman enjoys about the sport.

“I do enjoy a good physical game,” she said. “I like it when it gets a little rough. It means everyone’s  trying, so I don’t mind it.”

Stillman is not the only member of her family on the Golden Eagles. Her younger sister, Keyana, is also a key contributor to the team as a midfielder. Kirra said that sister has already accomplished something that she has not: scored a goal.

“Lately the past couple of games I’ve been going up for the corners and I’ve gotten so close about like four times, but it hasn’t gone in yet. … That’s the one thing she’s one upped me on already,” Stillman said.

While Kirra would like to score, she is not obsessed with it. She understands her role on the team and the impact she is making.

“I really like to focus on how much the other teams haven’t scored. So as long as the other team doesn’t score, I’m usually pretty happy with that,” she said. “This year, that is one of my personal goals is to finally score in a high school game.”

Whether that happens or not, one thing is for sure, Stillman will continue to use her soccer IQ and authoritative voice to help the Golden Eagles be the best that they can be.

When asked if she was considering a future with the Marines because of her demanding style, Stillman responded, “Oh no. I could never … Maybe I’ll be a forever customer service agent.”

All kidding aside, Stillman’s leadership is needed now more than ever after Central lost nine starters to graduation a year ago. She is excited about the rest of the season and what the Golden Eagles can accomplish.

“It definitely makes everybody’s job way easier when you have multiple-skilled people on the team. Even this year it’s still fun even though we lost a lot of heavy hitters, just figuring out how to play with each other and get back into that kind of tempo,” Stillman said. “We’ve been off to a slow start, but we’re definitely getting there, so it’s good.”

And when Stillman says it, you better believe it.