Kansas high school soccer star Sophia Stram makes history at Bishop Miege
ROELAND PARK, Kan. (BVM) — Gatorade names a Girls Soccer Player of the Year for every state in the country, but this year’s Kansas award winner has a particularly unique connection to the world-famous sports drink.
Sophia Stram’s grandfather was Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram, who led the Kansas City Chiefs to their last Super Bowl victory before this past February when they ended a 50-year title drought. He was also largely responsible for the introduction of Gatorade to the NFL.
“When my dad called my grandma and told her that I won she mentioned that (Hank) was in the first commercial for Gatorade and he was the first coach to have Gatorade on his sideline,” Sophia said, “and like 50 years later, after we won the Super Bowl again, I also got the Gatorade award, so it just came full circle.”
Sophia’s shortened high school soccer career was full of success. Like thousands of other athletes across the U.S., her senior season was lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the St. Louis University-bound star was awarded for the three stellar seasons she was able to play on the pitch for Bishop Miege, which has claimed four straight state titles. She was a three-time all-state selection and graduated with the most goals (61) in Stags history despite having only three seasons to break the school record.
“I think it means almost more that I got this award just from my first three years,” Sophia said. “They didn’t need (to see) another year of success, so I think it’s really cool that I could win it with three years under my belt and considering my competition.”
Sophia set the program’s career scoring mark in her final match in 2019. She accounted for all four goals in Bishop Miege’s 4-0 state championship victory over Louisburg and also set the state record for most goals ever scored by one player in a championship game. None of them were more impressive than the third one, which broke the Stags’ career scoring record.
“It was actually probably the best goal I’ve seen from a high school soccer player,” Bishop Miege head coach Nate Huppe said. “She took a ball out of the air, turned and hit a full volley right on top of the 18, and it was after we had just had four one-touch passes in a row.”
“Every goal and what led up to it was definitely a team effort,” Sophia added.
The offensive accomplishments are especially impressive when considering Sophia is naturally a standout defender who will likely compete for a starting center back position right away for the SLU Billikens. She plays defense and center mid for her club team and was going to begin her high school career on the defensive end before Huppe realized she could make an even bigger impact on his team as a forward.
“I had never seen her (before high school),” Huppe said. “Her sisters told me how good she was and then after she tried out I told her, ‘We think you can score some goals for us. We need you to play up top’ and she said, ‘I’ve never played forward,’ and I said, ‘You can ask as many questions as you need to. We think you can be really good up top.’”
As a freshman, playing with her two older sisters Hanna (senior) and Ava (junior), Sophia led the Stags with 19 goals, and so began her historic career as an offensive player. As a sophomore, she led the team with 20 goals, the last of which proved to be the game-winner in Bishop Miege’s third straight state title match victory. Then with her 22 goals as a junior, capped by the record-setting performance in the Stags’ fourth straight state championship win, she had finished as one of the school’s most accomplished athletes ever — in just three years.
“She’s a once-in-a-lifetime type of player,” Huppe said.
