Senior center back Aubrey Patterson and first-year coach Chris Henry heard a lot about a talented freshman coming up the ranks in North Oconee girls soccer.
Of course, hearing about and witnessing are two different things, but when Nolyn Herron took the pitch for tryouts, everything they'd been told was proven true. The freshman striker was a firecracker off the bat — Patterson said she exceeded expectations and absolutely blew what any of them had heard out of the water.
"I don't think I expected such a fast transition," Henry said. "You just rarely see a freshman that steps in and is already at the level of play (necessary). ... It didn't take long to realize she is different."
Herron has been in the starting 11 since game one of the 2025 campaign. To make varsity as a freshman is one feat, but to be named and remain a starter is another.
"When I made varsity, my mentality went to, 'OK, now I need to show them that I belong on varsity,'" Herron said. "My (aim) was to prove that this is where I should be playing."
Age doesn't matter if they can hang in there with the veterans, Henry said, and Herron has shown she certainly can. Four years of experience will go a long way, compared to if she were to come in next year as a sophomore — it's impossible to replicate.
"It's a great thing as a coach to have young players that can hold their own, step in and play at a high level," Henry said.
Herron has been playing soccer since she was 4 years old, getting her feet wet with a recreational department squad before joining Gwinnett Soccer Academy's 2010 Elite Clubs National League.
Soccer is something she started with her older sister Raegan, just by kicking the ball around their backyard. Her dad was a collegiate soccer player at South Carolina, so the gene runs in the family, though her older sister no longer plays.
"She's really supportive of me," Herron said. "She loves to come to games when she can and hear about how I did. ... She's literally always there for me."
Outside of schoolwork and home duties, soccer is her release and her goal coming into North Oconee in August was actually to make the varsity team — consider that bullet point checked off the mental list.
Her next goal? Set the single-season scoring record. The record currently stands at 34 goals, set by a now-graduated Ava Caldwell, who also holds the school's scoring career record with 85 goals in four years.
"There's pressure, but it's a good kind of pressure," Herron said. "It's the pressure to go have fun and play the way I want to play. (Soccer) gives me something to master."
Herron is at 28 goals on the season with three games to go. The Titans are 11-2 overall and 5-0 in 4A-Region 8. The season wraps April 19.
"I've seen so much dedication from her," Patterson said. "She's willing to play wherever (coach Henry) wants her and she's willing to do the best she can at it. And then, despite having so many goals on the season, she's still willing to play as a team."
Patterson knows she can trust Herron out on the field. It's nice to have someone to pass to, she said, someone she knows will pass to others and won't just dribble it through to take any glory for themselves. She lets others score, while also being the leading scorer, and it's what ...