Emma and Alison Houtz have been playing soccer together since middle school. Their chemistry on the field is better than any other–it must be a sibling thing. “I love playing with Al” Emma says. “We just click.” Alison smiled when she thought about her experience playing with Emma and said “I just think it’s cool to when our coach calls us out as sisters. Emma has just been super accepting of me and always gives me advice.” Alison, now a sophomore, has taken on a very large role this year. “At first, I was super nervous. I didn’t want to make a mistake. It was a little nerve racking.” As all older siblings do, Emma just wanted to make sure Alison felt welcomed and like a part of the team “I just told her to relax. She was obviously good enough to play with us, she just needed to believe that she could.” Emma, a senior, has enjoyed playing with her sister “I think Alison has made me work harder because now if I’m not working hard or playing well, I’m accountable to her as well as myself.” Every practice and game, Emma works hard to set a positive example for Alison. Her goal is to motivate her sister to be the best soccer player she can be. Obviously, the two are extremely close. Alison said “Emma is a great person for me to model my game after. She always gives me advice and she lets me be me. She allows me to have someone to compare myself to. She pushes me to be a better player everyday. Being Emma’s senior year, she will miss playing alongside her little sister. “I’ll miss being able to joke around with her. We’re so close that on the field we connect a ton. I’ll miss that a lot.” Alison just wants people know that she deserves to be on the field. “I want to prove to people that I can compete, just like she can.”

On Tuesday September 19th the Houtz sisters and the 4-3 Little Lions took on the 6-4 Cedar Cliff Colts. With eighteen minutes left in the first half, State College’s Emma Kerber scored off of a penalty kick to put them up 1-0. The Colts answered with a goal of their own to even the game at 1-1. But, almost immediately after, State College’s Erica Feese scored what would end up being the game winning goal with 16:37 left to go in the half. The Little Lions will travel to Central Dauphin to take on the 7-1 Rams on Thursday, September 21st.