There comes a point in every athlete’s career when they are defined by determination, hard work and success. For Keene State College senior Taylor Farland, all these factors went into her accomplishment of reaching her 100th career goal in KSC women’s lacrosse.
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Farland scored her 100th career point in lacrosse on March 24 at Emerson College. The senior put in two goals in the second half of the game and the second one hit the 100th point mark.
Farland said that it is really exciting to have reached this goal. “I remember watching attack players that were older than me get their 100th goal and I was so excited to see them make that accomplishment and never really saw myself getting that many goals in my career,” Farland said.
Despite this accomplishment, Farland never really considered getting 100 points a goal for herself. “A lot of the goals that I set are team goals that consist of doing well in our conference and making it to the NCAA. The individual goals from each player when put all together help us to achieve the team goals that I am more focused on,” Farland said.
Even though scoring goals is necessary to win games, Farland said the statistics such as defender caused turnovers, draw controls from midfielders and goalie save percentages are just as important, but often overlooked.
On top of the importance of each position, the work that goes into being a student athlete also contributes greatly to a player’s success. “Even with the label of being a student athlete and focusing on being a student first, it still takes a lot of work to keep up with the athletic aspect of the title. It takes a lot of work during the off season to stay in shape and keep up with my stick skills to be able to come into season ready to work hard,” Farland said.
That ability to see the value of each player’s position has also transformed her love for the sport and the way the sport impacts her, personally. “Lacrosse has had a huge impact on my life through creating strong friendships that I will always have, as well as skills that I will be able to apply to in life,” Farland said.
Those strong connections have led to a supportive team that fully shares Farland’s joy in the accomplishment. “My team has been very supportive and encouraging. It was really nice to even see how many alumni reached out and had congratulated me as well. It’s really nice to see even the first-year players being really supportive especially because some of them will probably reach this goal as well based off how well they have been doing in their first season,” Farland said.
KSC senior Cora Telles said that Farland is an extremely strong player, teammate and leader. “Taylor stands out in every aspect. Not only is she an incredible athlete, but she is a crucial part of our leadership on this team. Leading by example, Taylor always gives her best effort and our teammates look up to her immensely,” Telles said. On top of that, Telles said that when Farland is on the field, she plays with passion and is oftentimes unstoppable.
Farland always plays with a love for the game, putting her heart into everything on and off the field, Telles said.
“Taylor always capitalizes on her mistakes. Once she sets her mind to something, she will stop at nothing to succeed. You cannot teach an athlete how to play with their heart. They must have that instilled in them and this cannot be taken away from Taylor,” Telles said.
With so much emotion being put into the game, Farland can at times get caught up in all of it, but Telles said that the team works to uplift one another and push Farland when she is down, trying to redirect her passion into a helpful component on the field.
“She’s a very coachable player and she works so hard, this makes supporting her easy for everyone,” Telles said.
Telles said after the game is over, Farland remains humble and strives to keep working in order to better herself so that she can become a better teammate.
“Prior to receiving her 100th career goal award, Taylor focused so strongly on improving her shot accuracy that she was even surprised to have reached 100 goals. That says a lot about Taylor’s integrity and character: she is like no other,” Telles said.
KSC first-year and women’s lacrosse player Megan Gorham said that Farland is a determined and self-minded athlete. Not only does Farland know the game of lacrosse, but her level of skill and actions transfer over to everyone in a positive and helpful way, said Gorham. “Her leadership is well respected across her teammates. She always brings a lot of energy to every game and practice which gets everyone pumped up,” Gorham added.
Farland, who is a double-sport athlete, participating in KSC women’s soccer and women’s lacrosse, brings a higher level of play that doesn’t go unnoticed, the first-year said.
“Taylor is a multiple-sport athlete and it really stands out on how athletic she is. She is good about seeing the field and knowing what is going on. She adapts to her environment very well,” Gorham said.
Farland’s strong athletic presence on the team has been extremely helpful and inspiring to the younger members of the team, Gorham said.
“It’s a great accomplishment for Taylor to achieve in her four years of playing for the Owls. It’s also inspiring to younger girls to look up to her and want to be able to accomplish something like 100 goals too,” Gorham said.
Reaching 100 points is a milestone that many lacrosse players would like to accomplish and for KSC senior Taylor Farland, that box has been officially checked off.
Caroline Perry can be contacted at cperry@kscequinox.com
