PHS’ Ackerman, White to 
team up for ICC soccer

A pair of Princeton players, Sara White (front, left) and Daedra Ackerman, signed to play soccer for Illinois Central College. Also pictured are (back row) Dave and Stacey White, PHS coach Ed Young, ICC coach Emily Peterson and Tammy Dyer, Ackerman’s mom. (Photo contributed)

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PRINCETON — The defense never rests.

Daedra Ackerman and Sara White, a pair of senior defenders for the PHS Tigresses’ soccer team, will continue to shut down opposing offenses together on the collegiate stage, as both recently inked scholarship deals to play soccer for Illinois Central College in Peoria.

The pair were crucial cogs in the Tigresses’ defensive scheme, helping lead the squad to post 15 shutouts this year, a school record, while allowing only 13 goals all season.

White, the Tigresses’ defensive MVP this season, earned NCIC all-conference first team accolades, and was selected as a member of the all-sectional squad as well.

“I’m ecstatic,” White said. “I’m very nervous, but I’m really looking forward to a whole new level and a whole new team to get to bond with.”

Ackerman, who transferred to PHS from Florida in the fall for her senior year, was an honorable mention NCIC selection. She said she was planning on attending ISU before the PHS coaching staff informed her of the possibility of playing for ICC.

“It was a big surprise,” Ackerman said about her signing with ICC. “Playing soccer in college is a great opportunity.”

She said the chemistry between her and White should translate over to the Cougars’ soccer team.

“We worked really well together,” Ackerman said. “She’s a good defender, and I’m excited that going in there I will know one person and how they play, it won’t be as much of a difficult thing to get used to.”

While at ICC, Ackerman will room with her teammate on the Tigresses’ basketball team and fellow Cougars’ recruit Leah Shaw, who will play volleyball at ICC.

PHS coach Ed Young said the defensive duo set an example for what can be accomplished through hard work and dedication to the sport.

“It sets a mind’s eye for grade school girls of what you should look like on the field, and if you play up to that level and that ability, you can have the potential to get to a college and play and have that school pay for it,” Young said.

“They’re great examples and great beacons for our community. I’m sure they’ll have success when they get down there.”

White and Ackerman will be joining the Lady Cougars’ soccer squad as another PHS grad, Josie Gustafson, departs after two seasons with the junior college squad. She is going on to Western Illinois University but will not be playing soccer.

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