Bernard (right) finished with 24 goals this season for Colchester and will attend Boston College this fall.
For the second straight year, Colchester’s Lauren Bernard was named the Gatorade Vermont Girls Soccer Player of the Year. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Bernard as Vermont’s best high school girls soccer player. She is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in May.
The senior forward scored 24 goals and passed for five assists this past season, leading the Lakers (7-6-2) to the Div. I state quarterfinals. Bernard was the first Colchester soccer player to win the award last season and is a two-time All-American selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and was chosen as Burlington Free Press Player of the Year. She is a former member of the U.S. Soccer Federation Under-15 Women’s National Team, and a current member of the Under-18 National Team player pool.
Bernard has maintained a 3.93 GPA in the classroom. She has volunteered locally with youth soccer programs and camps. Bernard has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on scholarship at Boston College this fall.
Previous Gatorade Vermont Girls Soccer Players of the Year include Brittany Pfaff, (2009-10, Rice), Natalie LeClair (2008–09 & 2007-08, Essex), and Emily Milbank (2006-07, CVU)