REEDLEY – If it’s true that one year can make all the difference, then the Immanuel girls are a sweet surprise this season. At the center of this feel-good change are two players who feel pretty good about the direction of their Eagles team.
After enduring a 3-12-6 record last season, juniors Elly Thomas and Maggie Rogers are surprised at how different this team feels this season. Having played through the bad and the worse, Thomas and Rogers now feel the good vibes flowing through the nest.
“I’m really surprised how different this team feels, because it’s not like we’ve lost that many key players,” said Thomas. “But I’m surprised how different the team feels, with the seniors this year being an influence on us compared to the seniors’ last year’s influence on us.”
Already, the Eagles’ have made their previous play from last season feel and look like an aberration. As of this publication, Immanuel (11-7-2) has already surpassed their win total from the last two seasons combined. And Thomas and Rogers, two of the best at their positions in the state, are front and center in the Eagles attack this season.
For Thomas, the junior midfielder/forward, she’s always at the center of the action for the Eagles. In fact, as of Jan. 20, Thomas ranks among the top 80 players in the state in points (39), and #1 in the Tri-County-Sequoia (TCS), according to data gathered by MaxPreps.
“Me and the other forward, MJ or Makenna (Zulik), we kind of play and move across the field with each other so that I don’t always have to be on the ball when she goes to the ball,” said Thomas. “I can play more up, and that’s really helpful.”
Coming into this season, Thomas was expected to facilitate most of the offense. It might have felt like a lot of pressure, but from her own account, she seems to be doing well.
“Well, coach told me this year that I had to be our goal scorer,” said Thomas. “I mean, I think I’m doing a decent job.”
As for Rogers, an extra year of growth has developed into a season of dominance in the rack. According to stats in MaxPreps, Rogers’s 93 saves places her among some of the top goalkeepers in the state for this season.
“I feel like a lot of it is just my confidence in the goal,” said Rogers. “And last year, I was more timid and scared to make mistakes. But this year, just having more confidence has made, like, a world of difference.”
Brimming with pride, and playing with a renewed sense of purpose, there’s a chance that Thomas, Rogers and the rest of these Eagles could provide bigger surprises before season’s end.
“Oh, yeah, we’re gonna win Valley,” said Rogers. “We’re gonna win League, Valley and State.”
“I think it says something about our team, like we want to be there,” said Thomas. “We’re working so hard to win, and it’s paying off.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this article was updated on Jan. 20, 2026 at 1:35 p.m. pst to update the data included from MaxPreps, which previously reported that Elly Thompson ranked among the top 50 players in points scored in the state with 39 points, and that Maggie Rogers ranked amongst the top 20 in saves in the state with 93 points.
