November 13, 2003

SPORTS

Silvert-Noftle earns all-state

During the regional finals against Cincinnati Madeira, YSHS boys soccer coach Jim Hardman had an ace up his sleeve. With the Bulldogs down 2–1 at halftime, he played it, telling the team that junior striker Duncan Silvert-Noftle had been one of the 11 players named to the first team all-state in Division III.

Duncan Silvert-Noftle

Silvert-Noftle was a little shocked, Hardman recalled on Tuesday, but the Bulldogs’ intensity increased, knowing they had one of the best players in Ohio on their side. YSHS lost and Madeira went on to win the state championship, but the Bulldogs gave the Mustangs what Silvert-Noftle called “one of the toughest runs of their season.”

“I felt honored to represent our state, and I felt honored to be one of only two non-seniors on the list,” Silvert-Noftle said on Tuesday. “I had a good season, but I couldn’t have done it without all the players on the team. Even those on the bench put something into the team.”

Silvert-Noftle told his coach at the beginning of the season that he had a goal to be an all-state player. By mid-season the Bulldogs were undefeated, and, Silvert-Noftle said, the goal became more tenable.

He finished the season with 43 goals and 20 assists, the most of any player in the Miami Valley, regardless of division. He also was the fifth leading scorer on the all-state team. “That’s pretty phenomenal,” Hardman said. “That bodes well for next year.”

Silvert-Noftle is just as good at creating assists as he is scoring, Hardman said. Instead of being a ball hog, the coach said, he uses sound judgment about who is in the best position to score.

“He’s got great vision about what’s happening on the field around him,” Hardman said. “He can make quick decisions about who’s got the best opportunity to score, and he’ll bring a defender to him and pass the ball off if it’s the better shot.”

The last time a YSHS player was named all-state was in 2000, when Silvert-Noftle’s brother, Garrett, was selected to the third team all-state in Division III.

—Lauren Heaton