This Hextall prefers soccer fields to ice rinks

Her defense will be a big key if potent Eustace is to defend titles

She's quick, aggressive and poised to lead her talented Bishop Eustace Prep girls' soccer team into a season of high hopes.

But when most people hear her last name, skates and pucks come to mind before shinguards and goal posts.

The daughter of former Flyers goalie Ron Hextall and former figure skater Diane Hextall, Crusaders' senior Kristin Hextall comes from a family that practically grew up on ice.

But after growing into one the area's best soccer players, Hextall has made a name for herself outside the family tradition. Last season, her team won the Olympic National Division, and she scored the winning goal in the Parochial B state championship.

"My brothers play hockey, and I used to figure skate, but I really got into soccer when I was young," Kristin Hextall said.

A year-round player and member of the Voorhees Lazers club team, Hextall adopted the sport of soccer long ago and will likely continue to play when she goes to college next year. For now, though, it is all about this fall. "I love playing high school games now because everyone is really into it," she said. "We look good this year especially. We have some good players coming back and some freshmen who will help, too."

Bishop Eustace returns 16 letterwinners from last year's team, which was one of South Jersey's best. For Hextall, though, this year is different. Having had to sit out the first half of last season after transferring from Eastern, Hextall and Crusaders coach Ray Beyerle look for her to break out this season.

"She was really champing at the bit last year when she couldn't play," Beyerle said. "I knew we would be good late in the season, I just had to get her on the field. She's going to really show people something now. She can play almost anywhere on the field."

With four of five starters gone from last year's defense, Beyerle moved the versatile Hextall from midfield to fullback. Surrounded by new players on defense, Hextall will be the leader.

"You have to be more of a leader your senior year," she said. "We have a lot of great seniors on the team who will become leaders, too."

Along with senior Aimee Bresani and junior Aly Strauss, Hextall is one of several key components to this year's Bishop Eustace team.

The name Hextall just seems to stand out a little bit more. When she first joined Bishop Eustace last year, her teammates even offered some friendly hazing, chanting the hauntingly familiar chorus of "Hexxxxtall" as Kristin took turns shooting on net.

As one can expect, the name recognition was nothing new for Hextall. "It's been like that my whole life," Hextall said. "I grew with my friends at Eastern, so they were used to it, but people hadn't seen the name before at Eustace. They love it when my dad comes to games."

Even though Ron and Diane Hextall attend many of Kristin's games and have become soccer fans, the athletic focus in their Canadian hometowns was always on frigid ice rinks, not grassy fields.

"I played soccer as a kid like everybody else," said Ron Hextall, "but only when I was little. In Canada, that's all you did with soccer. But Diane and I have latched on to the sport."

Despite the difference in their sports of choice, Diane sees similarities in her husband's and daughter's approaches to the game. "They have so much in common," Diane Hextall said. "They are both so competitive by nature. They play good, hard, aggressive games, and they both love what they do."

Hextall's intense, competitive nature has garnered her a reputation as a physical player - a connotation more commonly heard in hockey locker rooms than on soccer fields.

Even though she may still have hockey blood, Hextall's heart is in soccer. How far her heart can take Bishop Eustace is something Crusaders fans and her parents, Ron and Diane, will enjoy watching all season long.