The 2022 Rams Reflect is the seventh in a series of annual collections. Senior captains and representatives of Suffolk teams have been invited to contribute viewpoints based on personal experience from both their senior seasons and full varsity careers at Suffolk.
For a complete listing of past and present Rams’ Reflections, click here.
Carley Pearce, Women's Soccer | Hometown: Bridgewater, Mass. | Major: Crime & Justice
Coming to Suffolk as a freshman, I was so scared and nervous to play on a college soccer team and had doubts about my ability and skill. I expected to not play at all as a freshman, probably not seeing the field until sophomore or junior year. In preseason, that feeling slowly faded because Coach Van Vechten gave everyone a chance to show what we could do. I ended up starting a few games before I got hurt. Coach instilled a lot of confidence into me and made me feel as though I should be there, and that I was skilled enough to be a part of this team. She also taught us a lot about how to act, teaching us skills like time management, leadership, work ethic, and sportsmanship. One of my favorite things that coach did promote was competitiveness, while in games and at practice. This influenced us to work harder, improve, and bring our teammates up while doing so. This turned me into a totally different type of soccer player.
When I came to Suffolk, I relied on the fact that I am athletic and aggressive, and thought that it made up for my skill (bad first touch, soccer IQ etc.). At the end of my years at Suffolk, my soccer skills have improved immensely, and I started to see that I understood the game better and had a way better first touch. I remember sometimes wondering why I put so much extra time into soccer, but once I saw the results and the skills, I was obtaining it made it all worth it. Not to mention the lifelong friends that I have made while being a part of this team.
I am so grateful that Suffolk women's soccer brought me some of my best friends I will ever have and made me feel like I was part of more than just a soccer team, but a family. Being a part of a soccer team has a lot of ups and downs, early morning practices, and sometimes doing things that you do not want to do. It was not always unicorns and rainbows, but the lessons that come with doing all these things are so powerful and will stick with me forever. Those early morning practices taught us more than just learning how to wake up early, but that we could perform at any time of the day, any weather condition, or any other factor. It taught us that there are no excuses, and that other teams are probably working in the same condition, and we have to make the most of it. I will take a lot of the lessons I learned from coach, and my other teammates to wherever I end up once I graduate from Suffolk.
To my teammates: I love you all and hope you all go out and kill it next year!! Beat Gordon for me, and I can’t wait to see what you all do in the CCC #TheyAren’tReady