Remi Larson has been a varsity regular for Stillwater since she was in the seventh grade. She has been penciled in as a starter by Ponies coach Rick Reidt since she was an eighth grader.
Not one of the biggest players on the field as a junior, Larson recalled how small she was back in her younger days.
"I was pretty tiny," she said. "Maybe 4-foot-9 and that was it."
Needless to say, Larson got pushed around a bit when she was geared up at varsity.
Since then she has grown to 5 feet 5 inches, sprints up and down the field with no fear and isn't afraid to get physical, even when players still tower over her.
"It's nice to do a little pushing around now," Larson said. "Wasn't always like that, but I've grown and packed on some muscle now."
Strength is one of her assets now, but it is not what she is asked to do for the Ponies.
Putting the ball in the back of the net is, and she did her part in Stillwater's 16-5 win against Cretin-Derham Hall on Wednesday night at Stillwater Area High School.
"It was her best game all year," Reidt said. "She knows when we are in a big game and tonight was one of them. We needed her to play well, and she did."
Her 14 goals on the season puts her third on the Ponies behind Carter Sanderson's 22 and Katy Sheely's 15.
Larson has scored in every game for Stillwater, but she was able to break out against Cretin-Derham Hall, a team the Ponies needed to beat to get back in the Suburban East Conference race.
"I felt like I was able to get more shots off tonight," Larson said. "That was the biggest difference tonight. I don't think I had as many opportunities in the last few games to do that."
Cretin-Derham Hall came into Wednesday night undefeated in conference play, including a win against East Ridge, who beat Stillwater earlier in the season.
The Ponies jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and were up 7-2 at halftime. Larson had three goals in the first.
The Raiders closed the gap to 8-5 in the second, but then were penalized and played the final 20 minutes down a player.
Stillwater took advantage, scoring the final eight goals and cruised to victory.
"We just needed to get our heads back on and we did," Larson said. "They were a man down, which helped us and we were able to get some goals back."
Stillwater improves to 4-2 and 3-1 in the Suburban East, while Cretin-Derham Hall drops to 6-2 and 5-1 in the conference.
"We needed this one to get back in the race," Reidt said. "Our goal was to win back-to-back conference championships, and we are right there to do it again."
