By Andy Loigu

Former Hackettstown Tiger Lindsay Hutton will graduate from Pennsylvania’s Grove City College on Saturday, May 19, with honors, majoring in biology and minoring in Spanish. She topped off a phenomenal four-year soccer career last fall by winning Most Valuable Player honors for the Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference, which competes in the post-season in the Great Lakes Region of the ECAC (Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference).

An aggressive four-year starter who dominated the action from her stopper position as a midfielder with audacity, tenacity and athletic agility, she used her head, literally, with an amazing knack for heading the ball. For her career, 70 percent of her 29 goals were headers and 60 percent of her headers were game-winning goals. She was an effective scorer when she moved up at times when the offense needed a breakthrough.

Although she played a position which is primarily defensive, she led her team with 11 goals this past season. She tied for fourth nationwide in Division III with seven game-winning goals in her senior season. In 2016, as a junior, she scored five game-winning goals.

Her class of 2018 graduates with Grove City’s highest four-year win total in program history, 55, and lowest number of goals allowed, 81.

She started 90 games in her four years, setting a school record. She averaged over 78 minutes a game and earned numerous honors: first team All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference in 2017 and 2016 and second team in 2015 as a sophomore, and a place on the ECAC DIII All-Tournament team and second team All-Great Lakes Region in 2017 and 2016.

During her scholastic career she overcame numerous injuries, including a dislocated shoulder and a torn meniscus in her right knee, never falling back on any excuses as she continued to work on her skills and conditioning to be the best player and teammate she could be.

Also an academic achiever, she earned membership into the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society, Omicron Kappa Delta Leadership Honor Society, Tri-Beta Biology Honor Society, and the Alpha Mu Gamma Foreign Language (Spanish) Honor Society. She plans to earn a nursing degree next year and become a missionary nurse in Guatemala, a culture that is close to her heart. She will be married to former HHS boys soccer player Brayan Morales in June.

She had been in the shadows of her older sisters Kate and Amanda, coming up through the ranks in the tradition rich Hackettstown girls’ soccer program.

Her older sisters still are active in soccer, after their scholastic careers, continuing on as players, referees, and coaches. Amanda currently is a co-head coach of a high school program in Lancaster, Pa.

Their brother, Dan (HHS 2007) also loves soccer and has been actively involved, but does not get to play in organized leagues anymore, as he and his family are serving as missionaries overseas.

***

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.