Junior Katie Silegy wasn’t always at the top of the scoring board for women’s soccer, but now she is currently tied in the number two spot in the Little East Conference (LEC).
Silegy was just two-years-old when she started playing soccer. “I was tiny; I have a picture of me and my sister and we’re actually on the Keene State turf field when it used to be grass and I’m literally two feet tall,” Silegy said.
Ever since then, Silegy has yet to stop playing.
Before she could get into the swing of things her first year, Silegy got injured. “I fell in preseason and I didn’t know what was wrong with me and my stomach was just hurting me all the time…I went into the hospital and I had to get my gallbladder out so I missed half the season,” Silegy said.
She continued, “Coming back after that was probably my biggest challenge in my college career. It was hard because you want to play and you want to be healthy and be fit, but it just doesn’t work like that; it takes time. It was nice that I had really good teammates that were supportive and wouldn’t drill me in practice too hard and just wanted me to get back.”
Silegy made it back just in time for playoffs. “We ended up winning [the] LEC, which was awesome to come back to that,” Silegy said.
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Assistant women’s soccer coach Sarah Testo said that Silegy works hard to get where she is today. “Katie is one of my favorites; everything they’ve asked her to do she’s done… She struggled with surgery [her first year], and then to come back last year, [do] everything we’ve asked her to and just to watch her be the player that I knew she always was,” Testo said.
Silegy said that her greatest accomplishment was coming back to soccer after her injury.
“Coming back after that and not really knowing where you stand on the team and not playing too much last year was hard, but just sticking with it and accomplishing a lot better season this year than any of my other seasons in college so far,” Silegy said.
Silegy said that she looks up to all the ‘classic’ female soccer players like Carli Lloyd, Abby Wambach, Kristine Lilly and Mia Hamm, but her biggest inspiration is her father.
“My biggest role model and inspiration is probably my dad, just because he’s the reason why I really started playing [and] why I kept playing especially in college,” Silegy said.
The team is a big motivator for Silegy. “The team motivates me the most because you want to play well for the team, you want to play well for the captains, especially because it’s their last year,” Silegy said.
She continued and said, “This year has been going a lot better than previous years. It feels nice; I finally have a little bit of confidence, which goes a long way. My coaches and teammates have really helped me with that and giving me that confidence.”
Testo agreed that she’s grown. “She’s got herself in better shape since her [first year]. She just has so much more confidence being on the field and it has just helped her. I mean we wouldn’t be where we are if it wasn’t for her.”
Teammate Marianna Porcello said that Silegy is a team player on and off the field.
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“Coming in [our first year] with her she was always wicked friendly. [With] her being from Keene, [she] had the upper hand already knowing some of the players, which was nice. On the field, she’s a very technical player. She can get the ball to the net, but she can also get the ball to others and they can find the net,” Porcello said.
“That’s the thing about Katie. She has ten goals [and] eight assists, so not only is she scoring, but she’s finding her teammates,” Testo said.
Testo and Porcello couldn’t stress enough on how technical Silegy is on the field. “She’s the playmaker. She puts the ball in the back of the net. She’s a very technical player on the field,” Testo said.
Silegy’s next move for the rest of the season is to win their last home game, take home the LEC title and to move on to NCAA and go all the way.
Testo’s last words about Silegy were simply, “I’m just proud of her.”
Shelby Iava can be contacted at SIava@kscequinox.com
