Finley Lavin only played her senior season with North Harford girls soccer, instead spending much of her high school years playing on the club circuit and running cross country for the school team. Still, she left her impact on the rural Harford County town and parlayed that into a path to a Division I school. Now, she’s dominating just the same in college.
Lavin, entering her junior season at Memphis, is coming off a spectacular sophomore campaign in which she was named first team All-American Athletic Conference and the league’s defender of the year.
She credits a position change — left back to center back — to unlocking her potential. And she hasn’t forgotten her local roots. Lavin recently spoke with The Aegis about her soccer career, from her success at Memphis to her favorite North Harford memories.
Q: How’s the start to your Memphis career been?
I think it’s been great. I came in and I learned a lot and I think I developed as a player. It’s overall made me a better player, and I’ve had a great experience with the travel, with the school, with the team in general. It’s overall been really good, and I’m happy to continue it.
What went well for you last year?
I put a lot of emphasis on my own personal training and working with our coaches to try and become the best team player I could’ve been. And I think putting all of my focus on that, I think it really helped me develop and work really well on the field with my team. To be able to get those accolades, I think it was definitely a combination of a team effort and my own personal goals.
Was there a big change for you entering your sophomore season?
There wasn’t a big change. I changed positions a little bit, so I played a different position my freshman year, and then they put me at a new position my sophomore year. So I think that would probably be the biggest change. It was a big learning curve within such a short amount of time before my sophomore year. But I really put a lot of work into trying to be the best.
What was that transition like?
A lot of dedication, a lot of film and a lot of questions, and a lot of mistakes, too. I think I learned a lot from the mistakes that I made, and that made me learn even quicker how to master that position. Some of the mistakes are, like, making the wrong decisions or giving the ball away or a bad pass. And then some of the questions are just, like, “What am I supposed to be doing? How do I do this?”
How did it feel to be recognized individually?
It was a really cool experience. I wasn’t necessarily expecting to get the defender of the year, so I think that was kind of like a shock to me. But I have to thank my teammates and my coaches. It was all a team effort, and I think that being able to have them — I just have to thank them for being so supportive.
What was the transition from high school to college like?
The transition was very, very big coming from North Harford, a very secluded high school not really known for their sports. I think the jump from that to a high Division I school was huge. Everything is very different: the expectations, the work ethic, the mindset. It was a complete change of pace. Living in the city, it’s completely different since I’m from such a rural, middle-of-nowhere area. That was a big shock. But when it comes to soccer, I think it’s just the pace.
What are some of your favorite memories from North Harford?
In school, I also ran track and cross country, so that would probably be some of my favorite memories. We had some of the best times when I ran cross country, track, and it got me very prepared for soccer with the fitness level. I would never change that experience. As for soccer, I didn’t play high school soccer until my senior year, which surprised a lot of people. With that, the best thing was just being able to play with all my hometown friends and being with the people that I grew up with playing the game I love. I did [track and cross country] to be in shape for soccer. My mindset was to be the best overall athlete, and obviously running and being physically in shape is huge for soccer. I also just like the competition aspect of it, it’s a very individual competition.
Do you still keep in touch with your friends, teammates and coaches from back home?
Yeah, I mean one of my forever best friends I played soccer with and I ran track with her there. We’ve been best friends since we were, like, 4. Being able to play with her for one last time was really, really nice and really special. I do keep in contact with a lot of my friends from those sports. I think it’s really nice to see where they’re at now — most of them obviously aren’t playing anymore. But it’s great to see everybody’s going to school and they’re graduating soon. So, yeah, I do definitely keep in touch.
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