A captain of any sports team must be ready to deal with the pressure and responsibility of being a leader. Everyone else on the team, whether an upperclassmen or an underclassmen, admires the hard work and dedication that the captain gives to the sport. Being a good leader is just one aspect of a great captain, but so is contributing to the team’s overall success. Senior Captain Lauren Regan has led Walpole Girls Soccer in the right direction by scoring 7 goals in just the first 11 games of this season.
Regan truly expresses her dedication to her leadership role. She inspires others with her unyielding persistence and enthusiastic attitude. She not only is able to communicate well with her whole team, but she leads by example. At every single practice, and every single game, Lauren always possesses a positive attitude. This year, she is not only a soccer captain, but a softball captain as well.
“Lauren always comes to practice with a positive attitude and we all lead by example,” said fellow senior Captain Abbey Smith. “She exemplifies what it means to be a Walpole soccer player.”
Regan is not only an exemplar athelete, but also a model student in the classroom: She takes three AP classes—Calculus, Literature, and Physics—with a complement of other difficult classes. Regan is also a member of NHS, maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.65 throughout her 3 years of high school and being accepted via an application.
Over her past four seasons on varsity, Regan has become a top contributor for the team. Her powerful kick and quick feet enable her to shine on the field. As an offensive player, it is ultimately up to her to score as much as possible, and she seems to do this with no problem. Thus far this season, she is the leading top scorer on the team as she has scored 7 goals in a short amount of time, a feat which some players can only dream of accomplishing.
Regan said, “I’m glad that I have been able to be a contributor to the team’s success so far. It’s great to be a part of this team”.
In the first game of the season, Girls Soccer faced Newton North; the game was very close, but Newton North came out on top with a final score of 2-1 in which Regan scored the only goal of this game. This was the only the beginning of what would become her incredible scoring streak. Regan continued on and scored another goal against Brookline—improving her scoring record to a total of 2 goals in 3 games.
Walpole tied their next two games (1-1) against Needham and Natick . Although Lauren did not score against Needham, she did manage to score against Natick. By the end of the first half, Regan booted the ball off a pass from senior Brooke Stampfl which improved her impressive tally now reached 4 goals in 5 games.
On Thursday, September 19, the Rebels had their first night game of the season. They played against one of their biggest rivals, Wellesley. The Rebels won the game, the final score being 2-0, both goals scored by Regan. Her first goal was with two minutes left in the game from a corner kicked by junior Annie Gallivan in which Lauren was able to head the ball to the back of the net. Later in the game, Regan got the chance to take a penalty kick, after a Wellesley player fouled her sister (sophomore Lisa Regan) in the box. With the crowd in complete anticipation, Lauren slotted the penalty kick right into the back of the net.
Regan said, “Beating Wellesley was probably the highlight [of the season] so far, as we knew it would be a tough game after knocking them out of tournament last year”.
Regan is a very skilled player who continuously gives it all she’s got. She will charge at every single ball, and never give up without a fight. After being one of the leading scorers for the team for her whole high school career, who knows where she will end up in the next few years.
Regarding her last year playing for the Rebels, Regan said, “I am really enjoying my senior season so far, but I do not want it to end.”
Whether she is cheering on a teammate, or slamming a ball into the back of the net, Regan exhibits the qualities of a true athlete. She is not only extremely talented, but incredibly determined, allowing her to be a very successful captain. After scoring 7 goals in just the first 11 games of the season, Regan will surely continue to be a large contributor to the Rebels for the remainder of her high school career.
