If you passed Lauren Benner in the hallways of Phoenixville Area High School, your first impression of the diminutive freshman would probably be that she just seems like any other student trying to navigate the through the book toting traffic making her way to the next class, and not much else.
What you can’t see on the surface is the fire and intensity that brews inside a fierce competitor. As the ball is put in play at a varsity soccer match, her infectious smile and giddy demeanor are quickly replaced with profound game face that projects determination and more than likely instills panic for would-be defenders as she races past them.
“I just love soccer. I have played since I was 4 years old,” said Benner following her first career varsity hat trick, boosting the Phantoms to come-from-behind league win over Upper Perkiomen. “I am so lucky to have such a great group of girls to play with and I get to play with my best friend Cecilia [Knaub], who I have played with since middle school. This is amazing.”
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Benner and her teammates are looking to make big noise in the hunt for the Pioneer Athletic Conference title this season. Fueled by the Phantoms young guns like Benner, who is one of five underclassmen starting at the varsity level for coach Jason Short, it is all systems go as Phoenixville has jumped out to a 3-0 league start.
“This is just awesome,” said senior captain Ali Thomas. “We have such a great group of seniors, we get to play on this unbelievable turf and to also have freshman making such a big impact is fantastic. This is going to be a great year. I am so happy for Lauren.”
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Getting to know our Phantastic Phantom: Five questions we had to ask
If we plugged in to your head set before a game, what kind of music would we hear?
“I love country music, Zach Brown band, Lady Antebellum or pretty much any country songs.”
What is your goal that you have set for yourself?
“I want to win it all, the PAC-10, districts and states. We want to be the best girls' soccer team that has ever played for Phoenixville and we have four years to do it.”
If you could play three-on-three soccer with anybody living in the world, who would be your two teammates?
“I absolutely love Mia Hamm. She was the biggest influence, other than my mom and dad, that got me interested in soccer. I would love to play with her. Second would be Cecelia [Knaub]. I have played with her since we were little and I would be nothing out here without her support. We feed off each other. She is amazing.”
Whom, if anyone, do you have a celebrity crush on?
“Well, I would definitely like to spend some time with Daniel Radcliffe [Harry Potter]. There is just something about him. He’s definitely all right with me.”
What is it about soccer that keeps you coming back?
“One of the coolest things about soccer is that anything can happen at any moment. You can play 75 minutes without scoring or having any kind of success, and boom. All of a sudden you score a couple of goals. It is exhilarating.”
Final Thoughts
“My dad Anthony has always supported me and gotten me back and forth to all of the practices. He is so awesome. I play club soccer at Vincent United Football Club and I fell in love with the game when I was little and can’t wait to see where we are going as a team.”
