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Memories at midfield
Sophomore shifts from supporting role to key player
Elliot Golan / Roundup
Rachel Kove of the Pierce women’s soccer team is more than just a midfielder.
Kove, 18, is tied with fellow sophomore midfielder Michelle Oakes for the team lead in goals, with four scores in four games. She also accomplished the rare feat of scoring a hat trick, three goals in the same game, Friday against the Mariners of Loyola Marymount.
“I don’t consider myself one of the stars,” said Kove, sitting outside the Freudian Sip on campus, her Pierce Soccer T-shirt still sweaty from the practice she just finished.
Her humility stems from a life of team sports. Kove has also been involved in baseball and tennis at different stages of her life.
“I consider myself a jock,” Kove said, laughing.
Kove attended Beverly Hills High School, where “not everyone drives a Corvette.” She played on the varsity soccer team for her first three years, citing “drama and pettiness” as her reasons for not playing her senior season. Nonetheless, Kove caught the eye of Adolfo Perez, head coach of women’s soccer, while she played club soccer for the West Coast Soccer Academy in West Los Angeles.
Perez called Kove a hard-working young lady and mentioned she has overcome a lot.
“Soccer is like a haven for her,” he said.
Kove’s stepfather passed away six months ago, which she called the reason for a lackluster performance her freshman season, when she scored only one goal.
“My head wasn’t there.”
This now defines Kove as both a person and a player.
“If I get a goal, it’s because one of them gave it to me,” she said, referring to her fellow teammates.
“He is my motivation,” she said of her late stepfather. “If I didn’t have soccer these past five months, I don’t know what I would have done. Probably would have dropped out.”
Kove juggles her renewed focus on soccer with 14 units this semester. A psychology major, she recently quit her job as a nanny to make sure that school and soccer would receive her full attention.
From her superior eating habits to spending time with a personal trainer, Kove intends to taker her game to the next level.
“Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a professional,” she said.
Kove also holds acting and singing dear to her heart. Her father, Martin Kove, played a memorable role as John Kreese, leader of the Cobra Kai dojo in “The Karate Kid.” Kove laughs at the mention of the famous quote her father spoke.
“Sweep the leg,” she said. “All my coaches make fun of me.”
Kove is the consummate team player.
Kove also points out a quote written on the back of her shirt.
“Together everyone achieves more,” she said proudly, adding that she was a complete believer in the adage.
With a great deal of pride in her team, which she calls her family, Kove sees no limits to the team’s ability.
“I think we have a really big chance of going to state (championship) and winning.”
