By RICHIE HALL
Westfield High School senior Ellis Nichols has committed to play soccer for Taylor University.
The Trojans are getting a proven winner. Nichols plays for the Hoosier FC 2007 Elite Wolves team, and that squad has made the Indiana Soccer State Cup title game in its age group every year between its U11 and U17 seasons.
The streak began in 2018 and has continued through this year, although there was no title game in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Wolves team finished as runner-up in the first two years of the streak, when they played in the U11 and U12 age divisions.
When the Cup resumed in 2021, the Wolves won the U14 age division, beating Indiana Elite FC 2007 Premier 3-0. The Wolves lost to ECU 2007 B Maroon 2-0 in 2022 for the U15 championship, but have won the last two years: in 2023 in the U16 division over Alliance Fire 2007B 2-1, and in 2024 in the U17 division over Indy Premier 07B Elite I 2-0.
“It’s definitely very exciting when we get to the finals every year,” said Nichols. “It’s always been a big game. It’s challenged us as a team, got us strong, got us better as a whole.”
Nichols said he has been with the Elite Wolves since he was “really young,” although he had played rec soccer before. He said he had a great time playing for the Wolves.
“I love my coaches and I love my teammates and the whole environment of it,” said Nichols. “I ket playing there for all my years until now.”
Teams qualify for the State Cup based off of the rankings in their leagues. The qualifying teams first participate in pool play, with the top teams in each pool advancing to the semifinals. Those semifinal winners then play for the championship.
After their State Cup victory, the Elite Wolves earned a spot in a USYS National Leagie P.R.O. event, where they won four games to earn a qualifying place at the national championships. Before nationals, the team played and won the 2024 USYS Midwest Regional event, then traveled to Orlando, Fla. for nationals, where they finished as runners-up.
Nichols will be heading to Taylor University next fall, where he is thinking about majoring in accounting – “anything business related,” he said. Nichols also got a chance to play with the team, and said he built a “really good relationship with the head coach there.”
“It was the first school I ever went to on an official visit out of all the colleges I went to,” said Nichols. “Every time I’ve been to the campus, it feels like a really good environment.”
Nichols also said he was looking “for a place that would help me grow my faith and be a man of God.”
“I feel like Taylor met all my requirements,” he said.
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