BATON ROUGE — Leadership will be a key component to the success of the LSU soccer team this season, and senior Sara Pollock and junior Casey Crawford have accepted that role as they were elected team captains Friday in a vote of their teammates.
Pollock has displayed her leadership on the field throughout her LSU career as a three-time letterwinner, while she was also named to the SEC Good Works Team in 2006 and is a two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
“I look up to all of these girls, and for them to turn around and vote for us to be their captains means a lot,” Pollock said. “I’m excited about this opportunity that I’ve been given, but we want everyone to step up and be a captain. It’s important that we all accept a leadership role for this team if we hope to reach the goals we’ve set for ourselves.”
Crawford made an immediate impact along the back line in her first season with the Tigers as she cracked the starting lineup in all 20 matches in 2006. Like Pollock, she also demonstrated the ability to be a leader off the field as she was named a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
“I just feel honored that the girls on this team have enough faith in me to be one of their captains,” Crawford said. “I know that this is a responsibility that both Sara and I take very seriously, and I look forward to the opportunity to prove that I’m worthy of it.”
LSU head coach Brian Lee is excited about the potential of this year’s squad, and he believes that the leadership role both Crawford and Pollock have embraced will be essential for its success.
“We’re really comfortable with both Casey and Sara taking on leadership roles and being named the captains of this team,” Lee said. “In my opinion, there is no higher honor than to be selected a captain by your teammates. Both have proven to be great leaders during their time at LSU, and we’re very comfortable with their decision making skills on and off the field.”
Crawford, Pollock and the rest of the Tigers will kick off the 2007 season next weekend as they play host to the LSU Classic at the LSU Soccer Complex. They are set to take on Southern Miss on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. followed by a match against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 2 at 1:30 p.m.