Newton South's Audrey Lavey: Toughness, Skill On The Soccer Turf

NEWTON — Audrey Lavey remembers being part of a fresh start in Newton South girls soccer four years ago. She entered the program with a promising rookie class that was constantly told about the strides the graduating seniors made the previous years. As she and her classmates walked off the field for the final time this past season, they did so knowing that they fulfilled their potential in building an unparalleled legacy of their own in Lions' soccer history.

"I don’t think anyone expected us to rebuild that quickly," she said. "Freshman year was exciting because we made the tournament, but we barely clinched. Then it took off sophomore, junior, senior years. We had really different expectations each year. It got better, and better, and better."

Lavey was at the forefront of that improvement as the Lions went from playoff bubble team, to Dual County League champions, to North Sectional titlists, to one of USA Today’s top-ranked high school teams in the country her senior year. As anticipation of success grew around the team, Lavey was one of the veterans who carried it most upon her slight shoulders as a four-year varsity starter and one of the state’s most dangerous offensive threats.

She scored a school-record 82 goals in her career, including 23 goals to go with 13 assists her senior year, and was a three-time DCL All-Star. The Wesleyan University-bound talent was named the Mendelson Award recipient as the top female athlete at Newton South prior to graduation.

"I was shocked," she said of the honor. "I never saw myself as an award-winning player with so many other eligible athletes at the school. I am so grateful for it. But I could not have done it myself. My teammates drew attention to me as a player with all the success we had as a team."

While Lavey was surrounded with talent on the Newton South pitch, she was as responsible as anyone for the way the Lions never backed down from a challenge.

"She was very determined," Newton South coach Doug McCarthy said. "She was marked most of the game and often they would double her. But she is a special player and would find ways to score anyway. She knew it just came with the territory. All she needed was a yard separation and she could score."

Lavey went from a player who used her speed to run by unsuspecting defenders to goal her freshman year to one who developed the foot skills, guile and technique to score when all eyes were upon her later in her career. She also developed the toughness to take a hit running at full speed — often going flying through the air before crashing to the turf — and bouncing right back up to stay in the play.

"I definitely paid for it with a lot of time in the training room," she said. "I am not a fearless person. But I knew most of the time I was going to get right back up. I would just think that this girl can keep knocking me down, but I am going to keep getting back up, and then I am going to score on her.

"I found they didn’t expect me to get back up. Even if I was a little bit hurt, when I would get up and get right back into the play, it would surprise them. I used that to my advantage."

McCarthy called Lavey a "black-and-blue player" who never sought special attention for her myriad bumps and bruises. He said that set the example for the team — that if one of the smallest and most skilled players on the field can take a hit, not complain and keep on going, that everyone else had to show that same resolve.

“She wasn’t a big player in stature,” the coach said. “But she was extremely tough.”