Shaili Holden is not one to sit in one place or do one thing for long.
It was only natural then when the High School South girls soccer team had to find a replacement for their starting goalkeeper three games into the season that they turned to the senior jack-of-all-trades.
“She’s like that everywhere, and she’s done so many different positions,” said Pirates coach Elisa Mastroianni. “She seriously will do whatever you ask of her – and with a smile on her face. She’ll do try her best at anything she does.”
And Holden does plenty.
Holden moved from her defensive midfield spot to goalie for four games this year for the Pirates. She earned a shutout in her first start against Steinert, allowed only single goals in a 5-1 win over rival High School North and 2-1 win over Hightstown, and then helped the Pirates tie Robbinsville, 3-3. Late in the year, she also played some in a 4-3 loss to Allentown.
“I would rather play a position that’s kind of awkward for me and help my team out and let the underclassmen or other teammates go get it,” Holden said. “I’d rather see them score a goal while I’m in goal than to see us not come out with the outcome that they want because I can see how much my teammates really care and my coaches really care for those minor successes and those small wins. I’ve always been totally fine playing any position. It just came down to caring about the team more than whatever ego or kind of name to the position that I had.”
Mastroianni knew the team could rely on Holden. Mastroianni, who also coaches girls basketball and girls lacrosse – the same sports that Holden also plays – had seen her value and example in there and how she brought good perspective and insight over the years to teams.
“Just her attitude and the effort that she puts on the field, it is contagious,” Mastroianni said. “That’s why these seniors are so important this year because they help just keep the team just together and it’s not all about soccer and it’s about having a good time and lifting each other up. And I think that’s really important.”
Holden is one of seven seniors on the Pirates roster, and they’ve been through some ups and downs over their years in the program. Holden’s willingness to do anything and play any spot is what earned her a place on varsity as a freshman as a backup goalie, a position that she wasn’t thrilled about, but was willing to do to help the team. That attitude has been consistent in all her athletics. And when regular goalie Sophia Latif Estafan returned to the lineup this fall, Holden returned to the defensive midfield spot, the six spot using soccer’s traditional system that numbers positions, where she had begun the season.
“I always liked her as that like six spot, but it just didn’t work out,” said Mastroianni. “And when we made that formation I was like, this is definitely going to work, and if we need her anywhere, she’ll just help us out. She’ll do whatever she needs to do.”
Holden’s selfless moves helped keep a turnaround season going for the Pirates. South was cautiously optimistic after beating a historically tough Northern Burlington squad in a preseason quad scrimmage. The momentum built through the regular season. After winning two games last year, they improved to 8-3-2 when they won their first-round Mercer County Tournament game over Hightstown after closing the regular season 6-0 in the Colonial Valley Conference Valley Division.
“Our goal was no matter what games we win or lose we were just focused on creating a positive environment to let all of these younger players who are really excited to play soccer really grow because that’s something that we’ve kind been missing – that love for that sport, that commitment across the board,” Holden said. “So I think we all were just really ready to stay positive no matter what was thrown at us.”
The Pirates have lived up to that, having more fun than usual, playing with a joy that Mastroianni has focused on in preparing the team, and winning more than in recent seasons. Holden has been thrilled to get her senior year off to a promising start, and the success had her looking forward to a possible postseason run. The Pirates don’t want it to end.
“There’s just this genuine happier feeling, this more loved feeling when you’re at practice and aside from just being kind of nostalgic and trying to soak in all these moments and our senior year, it’s just really nice to have that positive atmosphere again,” Holden said. “Everyone wants to be there. Everyone is working to be there. With all the things that go on senior year, I think that has made this season special to me because I was never expecting it to go as well as it has.”
Her senior year has started spectacularly, and the end of the fall season won’t mean an end for her athletic interests. Following soccer, Holden will be moving right into her last year of basketball. Basketball has always been a big part of her athletic career. Her father, Kevin Holden, also played for the Pirates.
“I have a picture of him shooting on the same court that I play on now,” Shaili Holden said. “So it’s always been part of me and I think that’s why I’ve loved it so much because I love how like free flowing it is.”
As her first love, basketball will be hardest to see end in high school. Soccer was what she calls her “social sport.” She and her friends shared a bond of their enjoyment of the sport. And after the pandemic, Holden has also been playing a spring sport, lacrosse.
“I have really grown to love how they balance each other out,” Holden said. “I honestly don’t know if I could do only one sport after seeing how nice that exposure is because they all connect in some way and it’s just so nice to see the different people teaching you different things that can be applied. Everyone always says that basketball and lacrosse are very similar but just the way that each sport teaches you something about the next and you can carry something you learned in the spring to the next fall and winter, it’s just really fun and it’s really nice to feel yourself connect those dots.”
Holden has tried to pass along her love of athletics and its importance to schoolmates and children in the community. At South, she has promoted more school spirit toward athletics. She is a co-founder of the school’s Women in Sports Club that encourages opportunities for girls to support and join athletic programs.
“I’ve really just been trying to work at getting more kids involved in sports in the district because I can see the difference it makes after coaching during the summer,” Holden said. “Overall I’ve been trying to just work at getting the younger kids in middle schools and even below that to keep playing outside of that.”
She grew up attending basketball camps. She now helps by coaching camps and clinics, such as the 3-on-3 league run out of Grover Middle School. It’s a way of giving back and also serving as a powerful role model.
“I just really want them to see how impactful this is for them and just have that positive mentality about sports and positive feeling and love associated with them,” Holden said. “It’s hard to manage sports and the work, but I want them to know that it’s possible and then it can bring them a lot more happiness than they might think.”
Holden does find time to balance herself at home. While she’s running around often playing sports, coaching and doing schoolwork, she also makes time for artwork and caring for her plants at home and going out with friends.
“It’s nice to just do those slow kind of random activities that just give me a chance to calm myself down and not feel like I have to go 110 percent,” she said.
Playing three sports has taken a lot of time, but those commitments have been something that she looks forward to every day. It’s why she has stuck with all three sports throughout her high school years. She has seen her involvement benefit her personal growth and enrich her life.
“Regardless of where sports take me in my future in terms of trying out for different club teams at college, I think that it has really shaped the way that I work, the way that I communicate,” Holden said. “It definitely was harder than I anticipated, but I really have to thank my coaches and my teammates for being so supportive all the time, and especially my family. I don’t come home before 5:00 or 5:30 every single day so it’s definitely been a learning curve, but I am really grateful for the way that these seasons and this whole community at my school has shaped me. I can definitely see it shape me as a leader and student, even beyond that.”
WW-P High School South girls’ soccer player Shaili Holden poses for a photo.,
