River Hill girls soccer senior striker Marella Virmani has filled up the stat sheet throughout her four-year career.

She’s also climbed the county record book, and with a hat trick against Wilde Lake on Saturday, Virmani became the new Howard County public school girls soccer career goals leader with 82 goals, surpassing former Glenelg star Stephanie Lathrop, who netted 81 in her decorated four-year career.

Virmani concludes her career with 82 goals and 36 assists (200 points) and also recently became the county’s public school all-time points leader, supplanting Lathrop’s 182 point total in recent weeks. The dynamic senior talked about breaking the records and what it means to her in the latest edition of Varsity Q&A.

Note: Questions and answers have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

When did you first became aware of the record?

I think when she broke it my sophomore year, we all knew that she broke it. I did not think that I was going to break it again. I think [that] sort of came into play at the end of last year, I think I realized I was 31 goals away, but I still thought that was going to be a stretch. It wasn’t necessarily what I was thinking about. As soon as the season started going and I got a lot of goals really quick and I was like, ‘Wow, I actually could get it.’

What was the mindset and mentality when you realized how close you were?

I don’t necessarily think it changed the way I play. I think I still play with the same intensity that I did before, and I think I’ll still continue to play with the same intensity, but I think it was really cool to know that I was not that far from it. It gave a little bit of a goal to look forward to, but I was still working hard every game, the same thing I did before.

What does it mean to you to also be the public school career points leader?

I found out after one of the games actually that I got that one. I think it means a lot to break records of people who you played against and who you really looked up to. Taking down their records, it’s really cool because you’re not expecting it and you think that somebody else did really good things and then to do the same things as them is really cool.

What were the emotions when you scored goal No. 82?

I think it was really exciting. I was really happy, kind of just when a lot of hard work comes together. All my teammates gave me hugs and signed a ball and gave it to me after the game. It was cute.

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Did you know exactly what goal it was that broke the record?

I knew. I was really happy. I don’t know if anyone else on the team knew, until they announced it. I don’t usually react after goals. I’m fairly emotionless after goals, but I think I did actually smile.

How have you grown as a player since your freshman year?

I would say the aspect I’ve changed the most would probably be my confidence. As you get used to being in a varsity game, you gain more confidence as time goes on. I think that in past two years, defenses have been focusing their attention on me. I’m also well aware that I can deal with that and I can break through that and do just fine.

How have you adjusted to that increased defensive attention?

The pressure, it can get annoying all of the focus, but in a way, it is a compliment, too. You can really deal with it. I just rely on my teammates. I know the more defenders that they’re going to put on me means the more space that’s open for my teammates, and I trust all of my teammates a lot. So, I just know that they’ll do what’s best for us all.

How do you keep up with soccer when doing track in the offseason?

Fitness wise, I’m getting my fitness from track, but as far as the skill goes, I’ve played club soccer for the past 13 years. So, I just keep with that, go to the practices, play in games there and I keep my touches up.

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Do you have a favorite of your 82 career goals?

Yeah, probably freshman year, regional finals we played Long Reach, and I scored with two minutes left.

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