Karen DeRossett realizes her Robbinsville High girls’ soccer team needs to score goals to succeed, and that is her main concern entering the season. But the coach is also comforted by the fact the Ravens do not need to score a ton of goals if the defense lives up to its potential.
Anchoring the back four is senior marking back Lauren Thompson, who was voted to the prestigious Mercer 33 team last year. She is joined by senior Nicolina Iorio and goalie Morgan Psiuk, while Jill Testa, Nenagh Sheehan and Megan Lekulitch battle for the other two starting berths.
“Lauren will be a staple in the back,” DeRossett said. “She’s a solid player, very fast. She has great ball skills and her insight on the game is tremendous. I’m very excited to have her back.”
DeRossett took the 2012 season off for maternity leave but couldn’t help but be impressed by Thompson as a sophomore on varsity.
“I watched her play a lot,” she said. “I knew she was dynamite even then.”
Thompson’s job, plain and simple, is to mark the other team’s top scorer and try to take her out of the game.
“She did a very good job of that,” DeRossett said.
“It’s a lot of pressure, but it drives me to want to do better, I know my team is depending on me,” Thompson said. “I think you can frustrate them if you’re constantly in their face and you can shut them down.”
DeRossett listed Hightstown’s Dakota Mills as the toughest girl to try and defend last year and, as luck would have it, the Rams are the Ravens first opponent this season. Mills is still with the team.
“I noticed that right away,” Thompson said with a laugh.
Robbinsville is coming off a 12-11 season in which it dropped a first-round Central Jersey Group II playoff game to Delaware Valley. The Ravens are trying to get back to the glory days of state championships, which were not too long ago.
“The problem was, we couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net last year,” DeRossett said. “Defensively we’ll be dynamite. If we can’t put the ball in the back of net, we will have trouble, but if we put it in the back of the net we’ll be fabulous.”
“I’m just hoping we win more games and have a better team chemistry this year,” Thompson said. “We’re more connected, and I think we’ll be a lot better.”
Thompson started her career on offense, playing forward when she started in the Robbinsville rec league at 5.
“I don’t even remember how I started playing defense,” she said. “All of a sudden I just started playing defense. It was during travel and after that I just started trying out for defense.”
From fourth to eighth grade Thompson played travel ball for the Robbinsville Power, which contained many of Lauren’s current Raven teammates. From there she went to West Windsor as a freshman, the GAK Elite as a sophomore and Jennie B’s – coached by Jen Bessler – last year. She was also a defender on the Pond Road Middle School team.
“It felt pretty natural making the switch,” she said. “I still have an offensive mindset in me and I like to pass the ball.
“I think playing offense helps me on defense. Certain moves they try do on you, you already know because you used to do them. You know when to try and take away the outside or up the middle.”
DeRossett noted that sometimes Thompson will initiate the offense with her defense.
“You don’t even think she’s gonna get (the ball) and then she gets it and has done something really great with it,” the coach said. “She surprises you, she does better than what you think. You never think you’ll get the ball; you think you’ve lost it and she’ll come out with it and get us going on offense.”
Despite feeling pressure as a marking back, Thompson lives for the moment.
“She thrives on it,” DeRossett said. “She loves the challenge of getting those top players and not letting them score.
“She’s a very quiet kid. But when she gets on the field, she’s more of a powerhouse. She’s very dedicated and very committed.”
When she’s not on the pitch, Thompson is part of the Ravens winter and spring track & field teams. She is also in Project Unified and the Friends of Rachel, the latter named for a Columbine shooting victim.
She hopes to play soccer in college and has been talking to the coaches at William Paterson and FDU Florham. DeRossett feels whoever gets Thompson, will be getting a well rounded player.
“There’s not one part of her that lacks in anything,” the coach said. “Is she the fastest player on the team? No, but she’s fast. Does she have the best touch on the team? No. But she has a very good touch. She’s above average in everything, and that makes her fantastic.”
And she hopes to be a key component in a fantastic defensive effort by Robbinsville this season.
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