Eastlake North High School senior breaks 27-year-old soccer scoring record set by her former teacher

Eastlake North High School senior Madelyn Flick had a goal heading into her final soccer season to score 40 goals. But after finding out who held the school's single-season scoring record, she decided to aim a little higher. "I honestly didn't know who had the record and I looked it up and I saw her name and I was like, 'Oh my gosh,'" Flick said. That name was Jennifer Tompkins, who scored 42 goals during her senior season at North in 1999. Tompkins also happened to be Flick's kindergarten teacher. "So I was like, 'OK, I have to beat it at 43,'" Flick said. Tompkins remembers Flick as a bright student who even at a young age, led by example. "She always did kind of know what she wanted. She was always a leader," Tompkins said. But getting to 43 goals wasn't easy. Flick had 31 goals with just three games left in the season. She then scored seven goals in one game, followed by two more against North's rival, South. Three more goals in her next game gave Flick the school record, which had stood for more than 20 years. "Ms. Tompkins has always been like my favorite teacher, and it was just so much more meaningful for it to be her record," Flick said. For Tompkins, seeing her former student celebrate brought back memories from when she played at North. "Seeing her family in the stands, seeing her teammates on the field cheering with her," Tompkins said. "Brought it back and reminded me how great it was when I had my teammates cheering for me." Tompkins is now in her 20th year teaching in the Willoughby-Eastlake School District. She says one of the things that makes the district special is how people continue to support each other. "It's just a great community and we're always rooting for each other," Tompkins said. When it comes to seeing her own record broken, Tompkins says she couldn't be happier about who did it. "I think that all records are made to be broken," she said. "To have Maddie break it, I couldn't be more happy for her." Flick plans to continue her soccer career at Ursuline College, where she also plans to pursue nursing. Full coverage: https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/soccer/eastlake-north-high-school-senior-madelyn-flick-soccer-record-goal-kindergarten-teacher-jennifer-tompkins/95-53cd839a-3f28-4381-b997-2501fb1809e5