BANGOR TOWNSHIP, MI – When John Glenn opponents have the ball, it’s often short-lived. Carli Johnson is coming to take it away. And if there is something they can do about that, it doesn’t immediately come to mind. “She’s on them so quick, they don’t know what to do,” John Glenn girls soccer coach Matt Kraft said. “The number of mistakes opponents have made because of her… I wish that was a stat we kept. “Usually about 10-12 minutes into the game, they start panicking when they see her coming. She’s just on them. And they either make a mistake or she just takes the ball.” After helping the Bobcats to a 16-win regular season, Johnson was voted MLive Bay City Athlete of the Week. She drew 58.7 percent of the 24,446 ballots cast in the online poll, besting runner-up Brennan Pease of the Bay City All Saints baseball team at 30.3 percent. Johnson has served as a tone-setter for John Glenn for much of the season, using her aggressive style to give the Bobcats an edge in most matchups. She has delivered a breakout season on the offensive end, notching 15 goals and nine assists. But the junior is even more highly regarded for her defensive prowess, where she has a knack for overwhelming any opponent with the ball. “She’s relentlessly tracking the ball,” Kraft said. “Defensively, she’s an asset wherever she is. When she’s in the striker position, she’s backchecking and harassing. On the wing, she can get back and cover the whole length of the field. And in the midfield, she hunts down that ball. “She’s able to pressure that ball from beginning to end. That’s a big part of our ability to have so many games where the opponent is limited to so little time with the ball and so few shots.” Glenn has parlayed that into a 16-4-2 record, equaling the program’s most victories in a season since winning 22 games in back-to-back seasons in 2009 and 2010. The Bobcats produced that success despite a flurry of early-season injuries that forced them to take the field with as few as 13 healthy players in uniform. Johnson was among the team leaders who stepped forward and shouldered a heavier load. “She’s been a workhorse,” Kraft said. “She understood our story this year, especially at the beginning of the year when we lost so many players to injury. She knew it was going to be up to the 13 or 14 of them to gut it out, and that meant playing a lot of minutes. “Most games, she plays the whole 80 minutes. And to do that with the kind of motor she’s got is pretty impressive.” Johnson’s high-energy and physical play can be intimidating to foes who aren’t properly prepared when she comes steaming their way. “She’s picked up quite a few fouls, which is fine,” Kraft said. “She’s not a dirty player, but she does not shy away from contact. She’s fun to watch out there.” Johnson has elevated her offensive attack of late. She tallied seven goals and five assists, helping the Bobcats to two league wins and the Bad Axe Hatchet Invitational title in the span of a week. Johnson and the Bobcats open postseason play at 5 p.m. Wednesday when they host Flint Carman-Ainsworth in the first round of districts. If you would like your local high school sports news delivered free to your inbox daily, click here and sign up for one of our local high school sports newsletters. Love reading about local sports? Don’t miss any of the excitement from the season ahead. Purchase your subscription now and get full access to every story on MLive!