Lily Larnerd (7) of East Fairmont advances the ball past a Nitro defender during the 2025 WVSSAC Soccer State Tournament. (Photo courtesy of the WVSSAC)

When Lily Larnerd first stepped on the field at East-West Stadium, the East Fairmont Bees had never played in a state tournament.

Two years later, they’ve won a pair of championships, first in Class A/AA in a two-class system in 2024, then in Class AAA in a three-class setup in 2025.

“Coaches talk about certain players, but I think it’s just having an entire class like we do with that sophomore class. You’ve got Lily, you’ve got Annabelle Skidmore, who was the coaches’ state player of the year. You’ve got Emily Laxton (in goal)…Carly Manchin is a jack of all trades. We play her in the midfield, but she’s probably the best outside back in the state,” East Fairmont coach Eric Wright said.

That sophomore class has lost just one game, early in the 2024 regular season to Charleston Catholic, and currently hold the second-longest winning streak in the nation at 45 games.

Larnerd scored 55 goals as a sophomore and passed out 13 assists as the Bees went 23-0.

Goal No. 55 captured the Class AAA crown by a 1-0 final over Nitro.

That’s a lot of hardware, and Larnerd can add an individual honor as well, earning the West Virginia Sports Writers Association’s girls soccer player of the year for the 2025 season.

“Lily is a dynamic scorer that just brings a lot to the table,” Wright said. “She broke our school scoring record in two years. That says enough in itself, but she’s just a great all-around player with dynamic footwork.”

East Fairmont outscored its opponents 154-2.

Yes, two: at Grafton in a 9-1 win on Sept. 23 and vs. Buckhannon-Upshur in a 6-1 victory on Oct. 6.

After that, they scored five against Bridgeport, six against Morgantown, one against Wheeling Central, then, in regionals, seven against Brooke and seven against North Marion before putting six past Bridgeport again in the state semis before the Nitro victory, all in shutouts.

“We always talk about, if you lose the ball, you’ve got three seconds to get it back,” Wright said. “Lily may go even a little longer sometimes…in the (2024) state championship game against Charleston Catholic, the way she dug back in the second half and just helped us defensively was huge.

“She’s an extremely knowledgeable and smart player. You know she can make an adjustment in the game without us pulling her out to talk about it. She understands what’s going on.”

Larnerd scored 42 goals and passed out 25 assists as a freshman, stepping up after an injury to Big 10 player of the year Brooklyn Shupe.

Putting up nearly 100 goals in two years on the wing instead of as a more central forward is even more impressive.

“She plays her angles,” Wright said. “She’s got to have the top speed of any soccer player in the state, when you look at her track numbers as well. Most players don’t understand, even players who have played against her and she’s beaten, that next level of speed she’s got. When she’s coming from that wide area, she’s more 1-on-1 with that outside defender. When they don’t understand her speed, they take a bad angle. It might be a great play you just made, but against Lily, she’s going to be five yards past you.”

She isn’t able to be actively recruited by colleges until June, but Wright says there will be plenty of interest.

“More than anything, she just has to continue to do what she’s already been doing. If you can be consistent, that shows a lot. I don’t want to say it’s easier as a freshman, but you can surprise people. Last year, everyone was gunning for her and she put out 55 goals. If she can come close to doing that again next season, that just shows her level of domination.”

Larnerd will receive her award along with the other state players of the year and football award honorees at the 79th Victory Awards, Sunday May 3 at Charleston Town Center.