Edward Rudman – Sports Writer
Being named captain of a sports team is a great honor to the student athlete who has put in the work and dedication to get themselves into that position. It’s an even greater honor when it happens in their junior year, which is what Attacker Bayleigh Takacs achieved
She brings a steady work ethic and attitude. She always wants to be the hardest working on the team, but she also wants everyone else to be working hard so she’s really a leader by example. She is vocal when she has to be,” said Head Coach Kevin Siedlecki. “She’s a junior captain, the girls voted for her as captain even though she wasn’t physically on the ballot or so to speak.”
It is not often that a junior is named captain, as it is usually an honor bestowed upon seniors. Being a team captain requires certain traits, one of them being maturity. Takacs said that she was able to mature at a fast rate due to her sister Alexandra, a senior on the team during her freshman year.
“She was a senior and had her really close friends on the team, in her class and below her, so when I came in I was already so comfortable with them because I had already known them,” said Takacs. “Being around all the upperclassmen early on wkind of pushed me to mature a little bit on and off the field. Playing with the older girls really taught me that.”
During her high school career, Takacs was always aware of Southern because of her sister and her father, who wrestled for the Owls, but that did not necessarily mean it was always her first choice. Takacs admitted at first, she didn’t want to go to the same university as her sister and wanted to go farther away from home.
However, as she got deeper into the recruiting process, the Owls became the top spot for her and she wanted more than anything to play with her sister once again.
“As I got older and a little more mature, I realized I didn’t want to go that far from home and I would do anything to play with my sister one last time,” said Takacs. “It was kind of an easy choice, I would say. Southern was always on the back of my mind and I’d gone up to see a lot of my sister’s games while I was still in high school, so it was always kind of home away from home.”
Now, in her junior year, Takacs looks to help lead her team to a more successful season than in years past.
In her first two years, the Owls have gone a collective 4-18, with the team going just 2-15 during her freshman campaign and finishing last in the NE10 standings. Despite a pandemic-shortened season and a 2-3 record before the shutdown, Takacs and the Owls saw more success, as she led the team with 12 goals on the year.
Her play, Siedlecki said is fueled by her high IQ and understanding of the offense.
“She sets herself up on the most difficult spot on the field for offense,” said Siedlecki. “She likes to be the assister. She sees the field very well and she likes to see the field and sort of be the quarterback, gets the ball to the right spot and then somebody else scores the goal. She’s very happy to take that assisting role and run the offense, that kind of leadership is important.”
Even though the 2020 spring season was cut short, Takacs showed how dangerous and effective she can be running the offense. Starting in all five games played, Takacs led the team with 12 goals and 7 assists and was tied for first in points in the Northeast 10 conference with 19, according to Southern’s athletic website.
“I have been on so many teams throughout my sporting career and Bailey is one of the best teammates that I’ve ever had,” said Attacker Hailey Gordon, a senior. “She’s so caring and so dedicated to this sport, but most importantly, she’s so dedicated to being the best teammate that she can be and a good friend.”
