Student-Athlete Spotlight: Lauren Hoolahan

The McDaniel College women's soccer team has a team-first mentality. Junior goalkeeper Lauren Hoolahan has experience with this first-hand, spending her first two seasons as a backup behind standout Katherine Carstensen, who used her final year of eligibility in 2022.
 
Being a backup taught Hoolahan the importance of supporting her team, whether she is playing or not. She emphasized the reason she chose to be a student-athlete at McDaniel was the building of a great program by head coach Sandy Lagana Bly.
 
In her junior year of high school, Hoolahan realized she didn't want to play for a Division I program because of the added pressure.
 
"I was looking to play for a competitive Divison III school," Hoolahan said. "I wanted to play for the joy of playing. McDaniel is one of the top women's soccer programs in the country."
 
As one of the four goalkeepers on the team, Hoolahan emphasized that each of them is there to support, coach, and motivate each other.
 
"Goalkeeper culture is very unique," she said. "Keeping the ball out of the goal is much harder than people realize."
 
Hoolahan stated that no matter if she was playing, the women's soccer program on The Hill has a "team before me mentality." In her first two seasons, she didn't necessarily care if she was playing.
 
"I was supporting Kat," she said. "I'm happy to do anything I can to benefit our team."
 
The goalkeeper unit on McDaniel's team has always helped each other improve and better their game, no matter who was playing, whether in practice or the games themselves. The goalkeepers on the bench would focus on how to help each other improve their game and their goal of stopping the ball before it hits the back of the net.
 
In her first year as a starter, Hoolahan said, "Pressure is kind of complicated. You put pressure on yourself."
 
Hoolahan did get playing time in her first two seasons, playing 71 minutes in four games her first year and 42 minutes over two games last year.
 
"The minutes I got the past two years, but wasn't starting, helped me prepare to be a starter this season," Hoolahan commented.
 
Before this season, Hoolahan did not know she would be the starting keeper.
 
"Nothing is guaranteed," she said. "I was always working hard no matter what. "I didn't know I was going to start our first game until the day before. Sandy came up to me and asked if I was ready to start tomorrow."
 
The junior was ready, posting back-to-back shutouts in her first two career starts while making four saves. In four games this season, she has played all 360 minutes in goal, posting 0.50 goals against average and an .857 save percentage as the team in 2-1-1.
 
To prepare for games, Hoolahan meditates and drinks coffee before each match which frames her mind for the game, which is extremely important now as a starter.
 
But in terms of playing in the game itself, Hoolahan emphasized the "mental preparation" for each game.
 
"Sandy gives us a scouting report on the team we are playing against," she said. Looking at the reports gives us knowledge of how the opposing players play and where they shoot the ball. I focus on what I can do in the game in the moment. The report helps me think on my feet."
 
The idea that teams look different every year is something that Hoolahan mentioned. She homes in on trying to help the team any way she can.
 
To this point, it is something the junior keeper has done well.