Twin sisters bring ‘contagious’ competitive spirit to pursuit of repeat title

ROME — Opponents playing against the Model girls’ soccer team over the past few years may have thought they were seeing double.

After defending an attack from No. 3, they would work the ball to the other end of the field and suddenly be stopped by No. 6 — who looked an awful lot like No. 3.

Model seniors Molly and Claire Allmon have done a lot together, growing up as twin sisters. They have gone to school together, gone on family trips together, learned to play soccer together, and — just last May — became state champions together, when their Lady Blue Devils shut out Region 6-A rival Bremen 3-0 in the Class A Division I title game.

That win was just part of an amazing career that the Allmons have enjoyed at their Floyd County school. Model has become a perennial powerhouse in Class A soccer in recent years. Over the Allmons’ four-year career, the Lady Blue Devils have posted an impressive 74-6 overall record (20-2 this year), with a state quarterfinal appearance, a state semifinal berth, and now consecutive trips to the GHSA championship match. Model is on the verge of becoming the first-ever public school girls’ soccer repeat champions in Class A Division 1 (Aquinas was a repeat champ in Division II in 2023-24.)

Along the way, Molly Allmon — the program’s third-leading scorer all-time with 128 career goals and 64 assists — has dominated the Model offensive attack, while sister Claire — the team’s center back on defense — has been a major part of an airtight defense that recorded 18 shutouts this season (including 12 straight) and 61 shutouts overall since 2023. In four seasons, the Lady Blue Devils have tallied an amazing 449 total goals while only conceding 27.

Molly, who was recently named the Region 6-A player of the year, said she and her sister share an almost telepathic vibe when they are on the pitch together.

“My sister has been so important to me … it’s been great to play with her,” Molly said. “It’s like we have a connection out there. It’s almost unspoken … we don’t even really have to talk to one another, usually she just knows where to find me. We know each other well enough to where we can pace the ball just right.”

Molly said that while winning last year’s state title was an accomplishment, there were still some unmet goals. Model didn’t win last season’s region championship — that went to Bremen — but the Lady Blue Devils rectified that this year by beating Bremen in late March, en route to a perfect 5-0 region record.

“We definitely used winning a region championship as a motivating goal for us to push ourselves this year, since last season we lost to Bremen in overtime for the region championship,” she explained. “That was our first goal, and our next one is to hopefully get two (state championship) rings. We’ve really been trying to push for that.”

Claire Allmon, who was voted a first-team All-Region player this season, said she has been filled with gratitude this year, looking back on her four-year high school journey that she said has gone by way too fast.

“Having the community feeling here is really special,” Claire said. “I’m thankful that I have the teammates I do, because it’s such a positive environment. When you make a mistake, you know there’s someone there to back you up, and they’re not going to hold things against you.”

Claire said that despite winning the crown last year, there was some anxiety coming into this season — albeit a different type of stress.

“I think last year, there was some pressure as the season went on because we wondered ‘How far can we make it?’ and it was a little scary sometimes,” she said. “We really wanted to make school history as the first soccer state champion. This year, it feels like a different kind of pressure, for sure … it’s almost like ‘Oh, we’ve won it, but now we want to keep it.’ It feels like we’re living up to people’s expectations or trying to prove other people wrong”

Model head coach Lauren Jones, in her third year at the helm of the Lady Blue Devils, said the Allmon twins’ style of play provides a spark to their teammates in almost every game.

“Their leadership has been so important. I feel like Claire is our vocal leader, and Molly is our inspiration through her actions on the field,” Jones said. “Both of them play so hard, and they just dominate both ends of the field, which is amazing to see. It’s funny that being twins, one plays defense and one plays offense, but they both do their jobs so well. But they will also be the first ones to give credit to their teammates … they know they wouldn’t be able to do what they do without them.

“Their competitive spirit is so contagious … it spreads through our team like wildfire,” Jones added.

The Allmon twins agreed that recapturing the magical feeling from last year’s title run has been something on the minds of the Lady Blue Devils’ 10 seniors as they close out their prep career.