Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Family, World Cup team inspires Evans

The entire world watched as the U.S. women’s soccer team was triumphant against China in the World Cup in 1999. This win was especially sweet, because it was won on United States soil at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. While this may have seemed like a normal soccer game with a fantastic ending, it changed the life of one 10-year-old Munhall, Pa. girl forever.Lauren Evans, a senior at Point Park University and captain of the girls’ soccer team, has been playing soccer ever since that game in 1999.”I picked the number nine because I love Mia Hamm … after I had watched her play in that game in ’99, I knew that was what I wanted to do,” Evans said in a phone interview last Tuesday.Because of this great feat in U.S. women’s soccer team history, Evans began to play the game that inspired her. Though she excelled at soccer, it was not the reason that she had chosen Point Park.”I loved their journalism program. I had wanted to do something that involved that program, especially since I am majoring in the communications field,” Evans said. Evans is a public relations major with a minor in business management.”Point Park’s small class sizes were another thing that I liked about going here, not to mention the wonderful location in downtown Pittsburgh,” she said.Soccer had now become a way of life for Evans.”My parents put me into soccer, and I loved it. I was so inspired by that women’s soccer team winning the World Cup in 1999, I just had to play,” Evans said. “I didn’t have any family members that played or anything … I would watch soccer on TV, and I would always want to win games.” Since then, she has played on Century United for eight years, for her high school, Steel Valley High School, and, of course, Point Park.”I have known Lauren since I was a freshman [three years ago], and I trained with her before soccer,” teammate Michele Tabaka said in a phone interview last Tuesday. “She is a great soccer player, especially when it comes to her shots. She’s also very strong on the field, as well.”Evans’ soccer skills hardly go unnoticed. In fact, her coach, Mark Platts, decided to make her captain based on what he saw from her.”She’s very good at leading the team, both on and off of the field,” Platts said in an interview on Sept. 1. “To make her captain was an obvious choice, especially after how much she has proven herself as a forward.””Being chosen to be captain is an honor. It really shows that not only do my coaches respect me, but so do my teammates,” Evans said.”I’ve known Lauren for about a year and a half, and I noticed how friendly and nice she is to everyone,” teammate Emily Levier said about Evans’ attitude towards others. “On the field, she is very loud, but she makes practices fun and in turn pushes us to do better.”Her skill is one of a kind, especially her ability to kick the ball with both of her feet, according to Platts.”Lauren can do something that isn’t very common in women’s soccer,” Platts said. “She can kick the ball with both of her feet, and that makes her an even more lethal forward on the field.”Last season, Lauren’s statistics included four goals, three assists, 11 points, 22 shots on goal and one game winning goal. She was second in goals, assists and points on the team last season, not to mention being very well known for her physical style of play. Much of this success probably comes from the hours of practice every week.”On average, I practice soccer around 10 hours each week,” Evans said.Though Evans is viewed as a fantastic soccer player by teammates, along with being a very studious individual, she is also viewed to be a friendly and kind person.”Lauren doesn’t believe in treating underclassmen any different than upperclassmen,” Tabaka said. “She’s always smiling and talking to everyone, not to mention always offering help.”Soccer was not her only interest, however. She has also danced for nearly 12 years at Steel City Academy.”My family was surprised that I was going to be attending Point Park and wouldn’t be majoring in the Conservatory of the Performing Arts. I did tap, ballet, pointe and jazz,” Evans said. “I wanted to focus more on sports than dance, but I did take classes at a dance studio near my house.”For Evans, family is a huge component in her success and in her life. She has five younger cousins that she described as being as close as siblings. The fact that Point Park is not too far from home was a factor in her decision to come here.”It’s so close to my family, something that is very important to me because I just couldn’t leave them behind,” Evans said.But Evans does not plan on staying in Pittsburgh for long.”Eventually, I do want to move away and get a job out of state” Lauren said. “I would love to get a job either in a PR firm, a sports organization or community relations.”

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