PENDLETON — Reilly and Kelsey Lovercheck have been playing soccer since they were 5 years old. That’s 13 years the identical twins have been confusing youth coaches, high school coaches and opposing coaches.

Pendleton High School coach Kiana Rickman, who started with the Bucks last year, still has moments when she gets the two confused, but she’s come to realize it doesn’t matter who is who, they will get the job done on the field.

“I had seen them play their sophomore year, I knew there were two of them,” Rickman said. “They are very connected. If one is not wearing glasses, I mix them up.”

Both girls have been starters since they were freshmen, but Reilly is the one who gets a little more glory as the team’s leading scorer the past three years. This season, she leads the team with nine goals in three games.

Reilly also has two hat tricks this season, has been the team’s leading scorer the past two seasons. She is sneaking up on the school records for career goals and goals in a season.

“Ultimately, my goal is to do as well as we can,” Reilly said. “The records are a side quest, but it would be pretty cool. I would not be there without my wonderful coaches and teammates to play the beautiful game with.”

A big part of the Bucks getting off to a 4-0 start to the season is Kelsey’s unselfish move of going from left wing to midfield. This has helped strengthen the middle of the field of play.

“I really do like being in an offensive position, but I knew being in the midfield was best for the team,” said Kelsey, who is the older of the two by 5 minutes. “We wouldn’t be where we are now. We are undefeated because we learned to work as a team.”

Rickman said she tried to implement the change last year, but was met with some resistance.

“They fought me on it all last year,” she said.

Kelsey has one goal and a handful of assists this season. While Reilly has benefitted from the change, she also recognizes her sister’s sacrifice.

“I owe a lot of my success to my sister,” Reilly said. “She has sacrificed so much. She loves scoring goals. She has been my No. 1 supporter and teammate. I think this year has been so much better. We are starting to click and we are making something special this year.”

After last year’s 1-10 season, there was nowhere to go but up.

Two of a kind

Reilly and Kelsey, who just turned 18, are mirror twins, which occurs in about 25% of identical twins.

Mirror twins is a term used to describe identical twins whose features are exact reflections of each other.

In the case of the Loverchecks, Reilly is left-handed and Kelsey is right-handed.

“We found out we were having twins on the ultrasound,” said the girls’ father, C.B. Lovercheck. “You would not have seen two more surprised people than my wife (Kirsten) and I. We had no idea. We had to get a new car that would fit three car seats instead of two.”

Reilly and Kelsey have an older brother, Luke, who is a senior at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.

Reilly and Kelsey also run track at Pendleton, and play hockey in the winter on the small sheet of ice at Roy Raley Park.

“My girls love hockey because their mom is Canadian,” C.B. Lovercheck said. “The girls played hockey until last year. It’s a lot of fun, and a great alternative for those who don’t want to play basketball. The program here has grown exponentially. The Olympics around our house are quite exciting, especially when the United States plays Canada.”

Kelsey said hockey and soccer go well together.

“Being in another competitive sport helped me learn positioning and field awareness,” she said. “The more you see the field, the better you are. I really like soccer. It’s very athletic. It’s a beautiful game and I love it so much.”

The sisters would like to play in college, and would like to continue to play together, but they know that may not happen.

“We are together all the time, that’s what makes us such a good pair,” Kelsey said. “Ultimately, we’d like to go together, but if different opportunities take us in different directions, that will be OK.”

An athletic family

Both C.B and Kirsten Lovercheck were athletic when they were younger.

Kirsten was on her high school trampoline team in Merritt, British Columbia, while C.B. played high school football and basketball. His high school team in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, won state basketball titles in 1983-84. He then went on to play football at the University of Wyoming.

The Loverchecks met at Pacific University College of Optometry, and both have practices in Pendleton.

On the soccer field, Reilly wears No. 2, while Kelsey wears No. 3 to honor their dad who wore No. 23 when he played high school basketball.

“I wished my mom would have passed on her flexibility to me,” Reilly said. “I can barely touch my toes.”