Liley Becomes Latest Lowell Soccer Player to Go D1
Jackson Liley Comes off the Field During a Game Playing for LHS.
Justin Scott - Sports Reporter
4/18/2024
Spanning from Lowell High School to Midwest United to Newport’s Youth side on the Isle of Wight in England, Jackson Liley’s time in youth soccer has been quite the journey, and it will continue next year as Liley committed to Eastern Illinois University this past month.
“As a kid I typically played almost every sport and didn’t really have a favorite. When I was in 4th grade, my parents made the decision to move to England and this is where soccer took off for me. I tried out for a team and made it and that’s when my love for the game increased heavily. I played it day in and day out and loved every minute of it,” Liley, who played basketball and soccer at LHS, told the Ledger.
Liley's family moved to the Isle of Wight in 2015 when he was nine years old after a 2013 trip where they fell in love with England and Europe. The Isle of Wight is the largest of England's islands and sits on the southern coast. A ferry or plane travel is needed to get to and from the mainland. They moved back to the Lowell area in 2017.
Those two years living in England, where soccer is king, and sandwiched between Southampton, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, and Brighton, all home of big English soccer clubs, definitely had a big impact on Liley. The Lowell senior is planning to study business as well as playing soccer at EIU. The Panthers play in the Missouri Valley Conference
"Jackson is another Michigander, joining our program from a quality club in Grand Rapids-Midwest United" added EIU Men’s Soccer Head Coach Josh Oakley in a statement on the school's website. "He is extremely rapid, and is sure to be a threat to defenses with his pace. We have worked hard in being a team that is competent in transitions, and in turn, able to be dangerous on the counter, going along with attacking spaces wide and in behind defenses. Jackson will be a good fit into those specific team objectives."
Oakley was a big part of why Liley opted to commit to Eastern Illinois. Through the MLS Next platform, part of Liley’s club team Midwest United, Liley was able to be seen by Oakley. Camps, emailing and texting coaches, and a difficult club soccer travel schedule helped give Liley the opportunities to be seen by college coaches nationwide. Liley had been recruited by Davenport, Calvin, and Tiffin where Lowell Girls Soccer goalkeeper Aubree Lee will be attending.
“EIU is an amazing campus and I love the fact that it has around 10,000 students. Everyone always dreams of playing soccer and attending these massive Universities, but I think EIU was the perfect fit for me as a student and as an athlete. Eastern Illinois was everything I was looking for and more,” concluded Liley.
