Tavyn Southerland has been a standout on the soccer field at Chuckey-Doak for four years and after a signing ceremony on Friday afternoon she has the opportunity to continue her playing career at Milligan University.
“It feels great to sign today. It means everything to me have this opportunity,” Southerland said. “I’ve always wanted to play soccer in college. I didn’t really know if I would be able to, but I really started pursuing it during the middle of this season. I started talking to coaches and fell in love with the idea continuing playing.”
Southerland has been a force at the back of the formation for the Lady Black Knights and helped Chuckey-Doak to a 15-5 record and Class A State Sectional appearance in her senior season. She led the Lady Black Knights’ defense to nine shutouts, and she helped out the offense with four goals and six assists. She was named the District 1-A Player of the Year and Region 1-A Defensive Player of the Year.
In her time at Chuckey-Doak she has grown to love soccer and is excited that she gets to keep playing.
“Soccer has always been my favorite sport. I’m always playing soccer. It’s just what I love to do,” Southerland said. “I pretty much play year-round, except for basketball season. It’s taken a lot of work to get to this point, but I love it. I’ve just got to continue working. I’m really excited for this.”
Milligan is an NAIA school located just up the road between Johnson City and Elizabethton. The Lady Buffaloes went 10-7-2 this season and 9-3-1 in Appalachian Athletic Conference play. They shut out nine opponents in conference play and held two more league opponents to just one goal.
Southerland was most interested in the academic aspects of the school. She wants to major in nursing and she came away impressed with Milligan’s nursing program when she visited the school.
“I talked to a few other schools, but Milligan seemed like the best academic fit for me,” Southerland said. “They have a really good nursing program, and that seemed perfect for me. Then Kylie Malone, who is a former teammate (at Chuckey-Doak), plays there and she has spoken highly the school.”
