Today: Mar 28, 2024

Owls Abby Lucas climbing the ranks

Edward RudmanSports Writer

One of the most important goals for freshman on the Southern women’s soccer team is to improve on and off the field, something Head Coach Adam Cohen strives for in his players. That is certainly the case when it comes to Goalkeeper Abby Lucas, a sophomore.

“She’s done what we hope our student athletes are going to do,” said Cohen. “Here’s what we hope: when they come in as freshman and they go home over Thanksgiving or Christmas, that their family sees a change. An improvement. A growth. And that’s what Abby’s done. She’s in her second year now with us and I think every step of the way, she has grown and improved, especially her confidence.”

Lucas’ introduction to athletics started back when she was 5 years old and began to take dancing lessons of many styles.

As she grew older, she started playing soccer and basketball, however eventually focusing primarily on soccer.

Her road to Southern and becoming a goalkeeper was not always a smooth one. Lucas learned to persevere long before her arrival on the Owl’s soccer team.

“In high school, I had a lot of injuries. Once I knew that I couldn’t play due to an injury, I figure out how I can still be a part with the team,” said Lucas. “Mentally, knowing that you’re going to get through it and if I want to be active physically, I need to be okay mentally. You have to motivate yourself to keep going.”

Lucas could not play last year due to injury, however, that did not stop her from being a part of the team. She took up a manager role and participated as much as she possibly could.

“Abby is a really kind person; I would call her the perfect teammate. She’s caring, she’s cares about you, she cares about the team. She’s not necessarily looking to only improve herself but improve the team as a whole. Her mentality is great, she’s a team player, and honestly, even though she’s had so many injuries she’s still a huge part of the team and plays a big role on our team,” said Goalkeeper Abby Allen, a junior.

Lucas plays one of the most important positions for her sport and is fortunate enough to be surrounded by a cast of goalkeepers who have a lot in common with each other.

Lucas and Allen have a close relationship that has only strengthened over the course of the past year.

“We’re actually very close and we’re kind of very similar people. We’re caring with each other and have those laughs that a lot of the time other people wouldn’t understand what we’re talking about, but to us, it’s just us,” said Allen. “Surprisingly, Abby and I have a whole lot more in common than just being goalkeepers and having the name Abby.”

Coincidentally, both Lucas and Allen are triplets, which Allen said helped build their foundation as teammates and friends.

“I remember the first time we met at Conn Hall, we were going through all the things that we had in common and it was insane,” said Allen.

With her sophomore year underway, Lucas is focused on improving and hopes she can get some valuable playing time to show her progression and skills as a goalkeeper.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Latest from Blog