As if senior Corrine Lyght’s fantastic season couldn’t have ended better, she was awarded the Player of the Year by the NJ Soccer Coaches Association. Throughout her 2020 campaign, Lyght fascinated the crowds of SPF by showing her aggressive and competitive spirit. Lyght will continue to impress audiences as she takes her talents to Lehigh next year.

“I was definitely surprised,” Lyght said. “I didn’t even think of it as a possibility. It’s not something that at the beginning of the soccer season I was thinking of, but getting it was a really nice honor and it validated all the hard work that I’ve put in, especially in the last six or seven months to get to this point and be able to be recognized for my accomplishments.”

As Lyght looks towards the future, she wants to remember how important this award was for her and how she will look to motivate herself and others to give it their all, twenty-four seven. By showing improvement daily, her goals will become easier to achieve. She realizes the difference between high school soccer and college soccer and she is ready to take on that challenge. 

Lyght realizes that she could not have won this award without her coaches and her teammates. She believes that without them, she would have never been able to push herself forwards.

“Well, first up, I’d like to say thank you to Mr. Ewing and Mr. Tiedemann for believing in me for the last four years,” Lyght said. “And then my teammates. My captains and every single girl on the team who at practice pushed me and everyone on the team to get better. Whether they played 80 minutes or they never stepped onto the field, everyone was giving it their all so that people could accomplish what they needed to and as a team, accomplish what we needed to.”. 

Coach Ewing, like many, was very happy for Lyght when she won the award.

“It just proves all the hard work she put in to make herself a better player paid off,” Ewing said. 

When asked what inspirational message Ewing had for Lyght, he went straightforward and focused on her integrity. 

“Keep working hard and keep striving to improve,” Ewing said. “Most importantly, believe in yourself and your abilities.”

When asked what word came to mind when describing this season, inspiring was the first word that came to mind. Lyght mentioned how although there was a slim chance that they would have a full season, the team was able to make individual sacrifices so that the team could continue to play. Everyone was set on one goal and whether that meant not staying home more that usual, they were willing to make that sacrifice. 

“It was an honor and a privilege to play for Scotch Plains,” Lyght said. “When I was in eighth grade I knew that SPF soccer was really good and to have the opportunity to have a chance to just be on the team and to play. They gave me so much. They gave me some of my best friends, and they taught me so much about myself and the importance of teamwork and hard work. They just gave me a place to really enjoy soccer, without the stress.”

Lyght has demonstrated how to express confidence and perseverance on and off the field while playing for SPF and she will continue to do so while she plays at Lehigh. The SPF community will miss the talented play that Lyght had to offer and she will be remembered for many years.