Spring Creek senior Peyton Sullivan signed a national letter of intent to play women’s soccer this fall at Lenoir Community College. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
SEVEN SPRINGS — Most athletes sign national letters of intent with well-established collegiate athletic programs.
Peyton Sullivan is a rare exception.
The Spring Creek senior inked an NLI to play women’s soccer at Lenoir Community College, which fielded its first-ever team a year ago.
“That was something I had to think about [and] is that something I should worry about?” Sullivan said. “I think it’s more of an awesome opportunity … get to go help build a legacy.”
LCC doesn’t have an on-campus facility.School officials continue to accept bids for the project, which does not have a definitive construction timeline.
Sullivan studied her options and chose the small junior college based on its student-to-teacher ratio and strong medical curriculum.
“I needed something that was close to home,” she said. “I needed to be near my family, and Lenoir had what I was looking into going into [for the future]. I want to go into radiography, which is a branch of radiology.”
Following in her dad’s and siblings’ footsteps, Sullivan began knocking a soccer ball around at age six. She embraced the ever-growing sport and developed a winning mentality instilled by her competitive family.
Sullivan started out at striker for SC as a freshman.
She became a formidable force up front with former teammate Taylor Smith. The two worked in unison and constantly peppered opposing goalies with shots from both sides of the 18-yard box.
SC coaches noticed something else.
Vocal with a competitive mentality, Sullivan displayed strong leadership and communication with her teammates. The coaches moved her to centerback, which allowed her on-field instincts to take over and get her teammates involved in the offense.
Distribution of the ball depended on what the opponent allowed.
“It was never something that I thought I would do,” said Sullivan, who earned All-Neuse Six 2A accolades this past spring. “Although I love scoring, I think I always felt that was not my [true] position. Knowing my team, I can see what’s open or I know I have the skill, footwork and speed to bring it [upfield] … use my offensive capabilities.”
According to the Lancers’ current online roster, head coach Todd Clark is slated to return 16 freshmen off last year’s squad. The school competes in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region X Division II ranks.
LCC played eight games last fall.
Sullivan isn’t sure where she’ll fit in when preseason workouts start.
“I’m a very determined player,” she said. “[In the spring] it was a lot of what do I need to do to help my team out.”
There’s no doubt she’ll do the same this fall.
