Petoskey’s Farley Expands on Family Success with Football Player of the… – Petoskey News-Review
PETOSKEY — There’s no denying where Farley’s name has become best known within the Petoskey athletic program.
With a couple of recent NCAA Division I signings and a coach for both cross country and track, Farleys has been on a roll in both sports of late.
But, there is one in every family. The one that goes another way.
And, for Kate Farley, her own path on the soccer field led to great success away from the family business.
“I feel like they’ve known, even since high school, that I’ve always liked soccer better,” Farley said. “That was a bit more where my heart lied, I guess. They’re fine with that.”
While she ran cross country for her father and head coach Dave Farley and has been teammates with all of her siblings, including Joe, Caroline and most recently Tommy, she always went with a different approach.
“I just used it as a form of conditioning for soccer,” Kate said. “Sometimes people joke about it or make comments, but it’s nothing serious.”
It’s probably because of how talented she became for the Northmen in the field.
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she won back to back All-Big North Conference seasons and he stopped Division 2 All-State Honors in its final season this spring. She’s now, she’s been named the Petoskey News-Review’s 2023 Women’s Soccer Player of the Year.
After Petoskey lost much of her scoring from a year ago, Farley knew she would be counted on more in 2023. And she stepped up accordingly.
In the first two games Farley scored a couple of goals to help the Northmen win and he continued that trend as the weeks wore on.
“We had a really new, young offense and we just weren’t sure how it was going to play out this year,” Farley said. “I feel like it went better than expected just knowing that we lost a lot of really good players from the senior class before. So I was pretty happy with how we did it. Obviously, I wish we could have advanced beyond the first round, but we played against a super competitive team and I think we struggled quite a bit.”
Farley finished the season with 10 goals and eight assists, both leading the Northmen. He also developed good chemistry with other people on the pitch, such as newcomer Annika Gandhi early on.
“I think we actually work very well together, despite being new to playing together before,” he said.
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Other than the score, Farley was everywhere for Petoskey. While his experience might have reached an extreme, he put his body on the line where the ball ended up.
“Being in midfield, I was used to being everywhere and depending on the game and the team we were playing, I would go where they needed me, be it more attacking or more defensive,” she said. “I liked being able to help the defense and the offense and just where they needed me.”
In a class of just five seniors, it was also key for the seniors to step up and help the next generation of PHS players, something Farley knew was also needed heading into the season.
“I think for older people in general, there was a lot of leadership on our part,” Farley said. “We had such a young team, but I think in the future there are some good leaders in the younger classes as well. They shouldn’t have a problem.
“I think they are definitely set up well. They have a lot of talent in the younger grades and I think the team will do very well next year.”
Farley herself will be heading to Michigan State in the fall and looking to join the rec. team to play with recent PHS graduates, maintaining her love of the sport after a quick run and last season.
“I feel like even from the start of preseason to the last few games, I felt like it was two weeks,” he added with a laugh.
But, in the years to come, when people hear Farley’s name at PHS, cross country and track won’t be the only sports that come to mind.
Contact sports editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DrewKochanny and Instagram @drewkochanny
