For Lauren Marjanski, soccer has always been a family affair. Her older sisters, Lindsay and Paige, played the sport before her, and she grew up kicking the ball around with them. Her father, Rich, coaches the South Hadley girls soccer team, and when she was a wide-eyed eighth grader, Marjanski watched all three of them win the Tigers’ first state title in program history in 2019. 

It’s a lot of pressure to put on Lauren, the youngest of the three sisters. But Marjanski has never been one to back down from a challenge, and that passion and skill for the game led her to being selected as the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year. 

“She has a little edge to herself when she gets on the soccer field. She doesn't really back down from anybody, especially if they're older,” Rich Marjanski said. “Her soccer IQ is probably – compared to my other daughters –  very elevated. She's very smart on when you use your speed and when to slow it down.”

Marjanski had the junior season of a lifetime for South Hadley. The captain finished her year with a whopping 36 goals, nearly half of the Tigers’ 75 total goals, and added 12 assists for good measure. It never mattered what teams threw at Marjanski, whether she was double or triple teamed – she always found a way to score or send a perfectly-place ball to one of her teammates. 

“I feel like I definitely exceeded (my goals). Coming off of the past two years, I just wanted to kind of get better each year and (it) definitely went a lot better than I expected,” Lauren Marjanski said. “I was very proud of myself.”

Exceeding expectations is a bit of an understatement. After putting up 48 points and propelling her team to a Western Mass. Class B title and a quarterfinal appearance in the MIAA Division 2 state tournament, Marjanski was named to a number of  postseason honor rolls – she was one of four South Hadley players chosen for the PVIAC All-League team, was one of three Tigers to earn All-State honors, and was one of just three girls soccer players from all of Western Mass. to earn the distinguished title of All-New England. 

“(Her play) was actually off the charts. It’s one of those years, and we talked after the season about how much she was a leader on the field but talk about big games – when you're going against Belchertown twice and they have D-2, D-1 center backs...and she rattles a hat tricks off of that team… she steps up in big games,” Rich Marjanski said. “She knows when to turn it on.”

The junior wasn’t just the team’s leader on the field, she was also one of the captains this year as well. It was a new role, but one she excelled in. 

“It’s definitely a big adjustment from last year, being on the younger side of the team and now being not only on the older side, but also captain, I had to fill those shoes and be a leader on the team and help everyone out when they needed it,” she said. “I just especially love spending time with my friends and all the connections and bonds I make.” 

One of those connections is with her father, who’s played the role of both coach and dad for all three of her high school seasons. It’s worked out for both of them, but they’ve been very careful to keep their ‘work’ and home lives separate. 

“We kind of leave the father thing at home when we're on the soccer field. When we get home, I tend to leave it to her mother to discuss any kind of soccer stuff. I pretty much try not to talk soccer when we're at home and it works out pretty well,” Rich Marjanski said. “I'm pretty good at demanding things on the soccer field for all of them, but when we get home it's pretty much like, ‘How was your day at school’ and stuff like that. We just talk about different things.”

Marjanski still has one more year to wreak havoc on the field for South Hadley before she turns her attention to college soccer, a dream she hopes to pursue just like her two older sisters. But while she’ll be following in their footsteps, she’ll inevitably put her own flair on it – it’s what she’s always done. 

FIRST TEAM

Maria Belfakih, senior, Easthampton

Maisie Bowler, junior, Hampshire

Mia Corish, sophomore, Belchertown 

Ashley Cunningham, senior, Belchertown

Ella Forest, senior, Hampshire

Caitlin Graves, sophomore, Smith Academy

Madeline Hockman, sophomore, Amherst

Ella Laliberte, senior, Granby 

Madysen LePage, junior, Belchertown

Kacie Levrault, senior, South Hadley

Lauren Marjanski, junior, South Hadley

Kate McArdle, sophomore, South Hadley

Abby McClaflin, senior, Easthampton

Aida Name, senior, Belchertown

Gianna Roy, junior, South Hadley 

Emma Sanford, senior, South Hadley

Caitlin Willard, sophomore, Smith Voc

SECOND TEAM

Ivorie Arguin, junior, Amherst 

Jordyn Balint, sophomore, South Hadley

Meghan Bell, junior, Smith Academy

Tessa Boisvert, junior, Smith Voc

Hannah Burke, senior, Hampshire

Chloe Denhart, senior, Northampton 

Maeve Doherty, junior, Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion 

Kasey Earle, senior, Hopkins 

Madelyn Fagan, freshman, Frontier 

Ana Growhoski, junior, Easthampton

Eleanor Jacoby, senior, Amherst

Moriah Luetjen, sophomore, Amherst

Gwen Marion, freshman, South Hadley

Emma Moynihan, junior, Smith Academy

Parker Pallante, senior, Hampshire

Emileigh Pause, senior, Smith Voc

Desirae Redfern, senior, Easthampton

Makena Rogalski, junior, Hampshire

Rylee Suchenicz, senior, South Hadley

Maya Tellier, sophomore, Belchertown

HONORABLE MENTION 

Addi Barr, sophomore, Easthampton

Alexi Bonenfant, junior, Gateway

Sadie Cyr, sophomore, Hopkins

Raegan Delisle, sophomore, Easthampton

Allison Fleury, freshman, South Hadley

Sophie Higham, senior, Amherst

Abigail Madru, junior, Gateway 

Addison Miklasiewicz, eighth grade, Hampshire

Jaylene Moquin, junior, Holyoke

Anna Puttick, junior, Hampshire

Brianna Ribeiro, sophomore, Belchertown

Brianna Romaniak, senior, Belchertown

Anna Sakaske, junior, Gateway 

Carolynnn Skubiszewski, senior, Northampton  

Haley Springman, senior, Smith Academy 

Maddie Soderbaum, sophomore, South Hadley

Kaiya Thomas Rivera, senior, Holyoke 

Katherine Vallee, senior, Granby 

Lila Watkins, freshman, Hampshire

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