Plum sophomore girls soccer player steps into Bigger role with football team

By: Michael Love
Saturday, October 7, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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One day a couple of years ago, Olivia Bigger was delivering soccer kicks toward a goal from about the 40-yard line.

A couple of Plum football coaches took notice of her booming boots.

“They were impressed with my leg and asked me to try out,” Bigger said. “I told them I was interested, and it worked out.”

And so began her journey as a dual-sport athlete in the fall for the Plum football and girls soccer teams.

“I really didn’t think too much about it before because I thought football was more of a boys’ sport, and I didn’t think I could do it. But now, I know that I can really do well if I keep working at it.”

From those early beginnings in eighth grade, Bigger has progressed to this year and an opportunity to make a difference for Plum on Friday nights.

“Olivia’s done a great job for us so far,” football coach Matt Morgan said of the sophomore. “With her, within certain yardage, she’s pretty accurate, and she’s always working on increasing her leg strength. She’s come in and done a nice job with extra points, and we trust her with a short field goal.”

Bigger got a taste of varsity action twice last year, first on a kickoff at Gateway and then with a kickoff and converting two extra points in the season-ending victory over Indiana.

“She was able to have that Friday-night experience, and she got some of the nerves out,” Morgan said.

Bigger worked alongside junior Angelo Baleno, last year’s starting varsity place kicker who returned to the role this year.

“Last year, for kickoffs, they had me doing a lot of squib kicks or sky highs because they saw that I had perfect placement,” she said.

Bigger kicked for the JV team over the first couple of weeks but then was thrust into the main varsity kicking role when Baleno went down with an ankle injury during the week leading up to the game against Gateway on Sept. 22.

“He was doing a kickoff, and he stepped on somebody’s foot,” Morgan said. “It was his ankle, and he’s out for the year.”

Bigger said she was sad to hear of Baleno’s injury.

“Soccer is my main sport, so I don’t go to football practices as often,” Bigger said.

“In school, a lot of people and guys on the team were walking up to me and telling me, ‘You’re our kicker now,” Bigger said.

“I was wondering what was going on. I didn’t know he had gotten hurt. I got out there and kicked on that Thursday to get ready for the game. I have a lot of confidence in myself. It was different to where I knew I was going out there with a job to do. I was ready. I just wanted to go boot the ball.”

Bigger delivered a pair of extra points in Plum’s 49-14 setback to Gateway.

Last Friday, against Franklin Regional, she converted 2 of 3 point-after kicks.

Bigger said former Plum and Slippery Rock standout kicker Jake Chapla, a volunteer assistant coach with the Mustangs last year, played a big part in helping both her and Baleno take that next step in their kicking abilities.

“It was pretty cool to hear and read about all the things he did in high school and college. He worked a lot with us and encouraged us,” Bigger said.

“He knew where we were coming from, especially with me and it being my first year on varsity. He made us a lot better.”

Female kickers at the high school varsity level are much more commonplace now than ever before.

Bigger, who encourages more girls to give football a try, even beyond just kicking, doesn’t see that as being as big of a deal when trying to make her mark.

“A lot of the older players on the team took me under their wing, and they treated me like any other player,” she said.

“I’ve enjoyed having like 56 brothers. They’ve encouraged me and given me confidence that when I walk on the field, I can make a kick just like anyone else.”

The confidence extends to the coaching staff and Morgan at the helm.

“It doesn’t matter if she is a girl or not,” Morgan said. “You can rely on her because she is a football player. That is how we approach it. She knows that. We treat her no differently than anybody else. Last year really encouraged her to want to work more to be better.”

Bigger also now is in somewhat of a mentor role as Marco Tommasino, also a sophomore on the Plum boys soccer team, will kick for the football team the rest of the season.

Plum girls soccer coach Jamie Stewart said he could tell she came into the fall with more leg strength for both soccer and football.

“She put in a ton of time and effort,” Stewart said. “For us, where you see it most is on goal kicks. When Liv’s in, she usually takes the goal kicks for us, and she can boom the ball up to the 50. That is a huge advantage.”

Stewart said Bigger and others like her make an impact far beyond the field of competition.

“Olivia is very approachable, and it does help the younger girls in the community to not be afraid to want to maybe try something different like kicking a football or playing the game,” Stewart said. “With her ability, it shows what you can accomplish if you go after it and stick with it.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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