Six Keene State College athleteswere chosen for Little East Conference (LEC) All-Conference awards, all those athletes being members of the KSC women’s soccer team.
The members included senior Taylor Farland, junior Patricia Norton, sophomore Nicole De Almeida, senior Tori Laires, senior Katie Silegy and senior Julia Pearson.
For junior Patricia Norton, receiving an LEC All-Conference came as a bit of a surprise for her.
Gerald Alfieri / Equinox Staff
Due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury [tear] Norton was only able to play in eight games. Norton said, “I didn’t think it was possible for a player to get it without finishing the season, so I was just very honored to receive it.”
Norton added that she really had her team to thank for her accomplishment.
“My team was a huge part of my success. It takes a whole team to be successful not just one player. It was those around me that helped me achieve what I did,” said Norton.
Senior Taylor Farland also thought that receiving the LEC All-Conference award was exciting and something to be proud of.
“It’s a really exciting to be recognized by all the coaches that make up the Little East Conference. I think that it’s something that all of the girls that received an award should be very proud of their accomplishments.”
Farland added that without her team she would not have been able to accomplish everything that she has.
Every player brings something to the table said Farland, and that every single player has contributed to who she is as an athlete.
“Whether it is their leadership skills, their athletic abilities, or even just their personality; every teammate and coach contributed to making the player that I am today,” said Farland.
Fellow senior Tori Laires said that she had set out to achieve her goal of getting an LEC award back in the summer.
After an injury last year in soccer, Laires said she had extra motivation to play the best she could for senior year.
“You never know what can happen, you can get injured at any moment. So for my senior year I really set a goal to just work as hard as I possibly could,” said Laires.
Receiving her award was “amazing” and Laires said she felt “honored and just proud of myself.”
Laires also said that without her team she wouldn’t have been able to achieve all that she had.
Laires added that her team contributed to level of play primarily. “We have amazing chemistry, especially since we have 11 seniors. We adapt to each others playing styles to create the most success for our team,” said Laires.
With the KSC soccer season over now, the team looks forward to enjoying some off time and working to improve for next year said Norton.
“Unfortunately due to tearing my ACL for the second time, this will be my final season. I was glad I was able to end my season with this award, it’s truly an honor and a great way to end it all,” said Norton.
The women’s soccer team ended their season with a 11-8-1 record, their home record being 8-3 and their away record being 3-5-1.
The team had 20 games overall and scored a total of 52 goals.
“Just being able to play together made it all worth while, but especially be awarded and LEC All-Conference award, that just really made it the perfect ending,” said Farland.
The departing seniors have high hopes for their team in the 2018 season and look forward to seeing KSC accomplish even more said Norton.
Caroline Perry can be contacted at cperry@kscequinox.com
