‘A rare honor’: CCHS’ Emmy O’Donnell is Mass. girls soccer Player of the Year
“It’s really special. I have to give my teammates and the coaches a lot of credit. They made it a lot of fun.”
They’re a proud testament to team and individual athletic achievement.
“I’ve always seen the banners,” Emmy O’Donnell says of the tributes honoring Acton-Carlisle High School’s state championship teams, as well as four CCHS athletes who earned Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year accolades in their sport.
O’Donnell, who recently finished her junior year at CCHS, will join that elite group, having been named the state’s top girls soccer player for 2025-26.
“It’s a rare honor,” O’Donnell says.
She joins CCHS athletes Michelle Daly (softball, 2000-01), Eric Sellew (boys basketball, 2015-16), Thomas Ratcliffe (boys track and field, 2015-16) and Corinne Herr (volleyball, 2021-22).
Though Patriots girls soccer has had its share of outstanding players, O’Donnell is the first from the program to receive the honor.
“Until the past two or three years, I wasn’t the most decorated player,” she says. “I never expected any of this, but I got better and gained confidence. It comes from my work ethic, and Coach [Peter Fischelis] has been a great mentor. My club coach, Graeme Blackmon [FC Stars of Massachusetts], has helped a lot.”
‘A lot of fun’
“It’s really special,” O’Donnell says of the designation. “I have to give my teammates and the coaches a lot of credit. They made it a lot of fun.”
Last season, O’Donnell helped the Patriots reach the MIAA Division 1 state semifinals with a 12-5-5 record. She scored 13 goals and nine assists.
“Emmy is a nightmare to coach against,” Lincoln-Sudbury coach Matt Wentworth said in a press release announcing her selection.
“If Emmy were just the most skilled player on the field, you could lock her down with a good athlete. If she were just super-athletic, you could have a smarter soccer player shut her down,” Wentworth said. “But the fact that she is both the fastest and most technical player on the field makes it impossible to gameplan for her.”
It wasn’t always that way, however, says O’Donnell, who competed at the national level in track and field when she was younger.
A ‘powerful combination’
“She really has a love of soccer,” Fischelis says. “She was a better runner. Her love of soccer and her talent is a very powerful combination.”
In addition to her high school and club experience, O’Donnell has also been a part of the U.S. Soccer Under-19 and Under-18 Women’s National Teams.
“It’s a really amazing experience,” she says. “I’ve been to five national team camps and played internationally twice. It’s such a high level of play, and I learned so much.”
Topdrawersoccer.com ranks O’Donnell as the country’s No. 42 recruit in the class of 2027. She has already verbally committed to Duke University.
“It’s such a great academic school and they play at such a high level,” O’Donnell says. “They made the College Cup [final four] last year.”
This fall, O’Donnell will play one more season with the Patriots, hoping to build on what she and her teammates accomplished in 2025.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” she said. “I’m looking forward to a fun and special year with my teammates.”
