Ethan Noel and Ryan Roussel were part of four regional championship teams at Hopkinsville High School. (Centre College Photo)
In a five-year span, Hopkinsville High School won four 2nd Region soccer championships and won 103 matches in those five years. Ethan Noel and Ryan Roussel were teammates on the 2016 and 2017 regional championship teams. Noel was also on the 2014 regional title team as a freshman and Roussel was part of another championship team in 2018 after Noel had graduated.
Now the two former Hopkinsville High School teammates are together again after Roussel transferred to Centre College after one year at Evansville.
“Being with Ryan again has been very surreal. I truly thought that the night we lost to Warren Central in PK’s (penalty kicks in 2017) would be the last time we played together in the same jersey,” said Noel. “Obviously, we constantly train together when we are home and play in every ‘pick-up’ match but that will never be the same as playing together in the same jersey.
“Ryan has always known me, both on and off the pitch, as well as I know myself. Having that partnership is huge and bringing that to Centre allows us to make our team better in the process.”
Roussel didn’t expect to have Noel as a teammate again, either.
“Getting the chance to do that is very exciting as we grew up playing together and having such a good and long friendship it’s like playing with your brother and you can’t ask for much more on that end,” Roussel said.
Noel, a team captain, has basically started since he joined the Centre team for the 2018 season and is now part of the abbreviated spring season after COVID wiped out the 2020 fall schedule. He’s thankful the coaching staff and athletics department have found ways to enable them to play now during the pandemic.
“This team has been so resilient thus far and we have taken ownership of our predicament. I believe that we are in a good spot right now and have so much in store for us this season. I cannot wait to see what these newcomers add to our squad in the coming weeks, as well as how our team will come into form,” Noel said.
Roussel says it has not been easy for him or other new players to step in and learn how the program runs but understands the pandemic has caused problems nationwide for sports teams. However, he’s happy to be at Centre.
“I’ll forever be grateful for the opportunity and things I was apart of at Evansville with gaining great friendships with some of my teammates but overall it just wasn’t the right fit for me,” the sophomore said. “I felt like transferring to Centre would be a better opportunity for me on and off the field. I expect everything that everyone else on the team is expecting and that is to go out this season and get winning results.”
Noel says the program coach Jeb Burch has at Centre is about more than just winning matches.
“Our alumni foster an environment of tradition that allows us to play for something bigger than ourselves. There is never a moment where our boys are not competing to be the best in every aspect of their lives,” Noel said. “I also believe that whatever we do as a team we do it in style and with professionalism. Few programs can say that.”
Noel says being elected team captain keeps him “grounded” because of the responsibility that goes with it.
“Knowing that my team believed in my capabilities as a leader both on and off the field gives me great strength to consistently perform at a higher level. I know that I am constantly earning the respect and loyalty of all my teammates, so it keeps me focused at all times,” he said.
Noel along with teammates Dylan Barth and Will Newton recently tried out for the Bowling Green Football Club that is part of the United Premier Soccer League and made the team.
“This squad will be competing through the spring season we are having (at Centre) but I will return to training with them at the end of our season and through the summer. Getting the chance to be a part of a new club is always awesome because we will set the precedent for years to come,” Noel said.
Roussel and Noel certainly helped set the precedent at Hopkinsville High School with their play but Roussel was also quick to credit other players for what they did as well.
“We had all been playing with each other since we were very young and we as a group grew up watching high school soccer and always wanted to do something great when we started playing high school soccer. The whole group in high school wanted to win,” Roussel said.
Noel said the culture in high school reminded him of what he found at Centre College.
“We constantly were competing on and off the field and wanted to win more than any other team. This desire for success and to carry on the tradition of those that came before us made the work out in the off-season/behind closed doors so much easier,” Noel said. “I distinctly remember myself and Ryan waking up at 5 a.m. four days a week on school days to go train in the winter through spring to make ourselves the best players possible.
“As the years have gone by I realize that being surrounded by a team and coach full of winners was such a blessing in my life and attributed to the success we had in high school as well as the success I have experienced at the collegiate level.”
