By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
Growing up as a triplet,
Lauren Curran had instant as well as constant playmates. And did the Curran kids ever play.
"We started off with ice hockey and soccer," she said. "And basketball and baseball. And swimming."
Each eventually picked one and became a college athlete. Fran is a swimmer at Middlebury College in Vermont; Andrew is a golfer at Temple. Lauren is a junior on William & Mary's field hockey team and top scorer going into Friday's Colonial Athletic Association semifinals in Newark, Delaware.
Since The Curran Three compete in different seasons — Lauren in the fall, Fran in the winter, Andrew primarily in the spring — they try to be there for each other. Andrew will make the one-hour drive from Philadelphia to see Lauren and her team go against Delaware at 4 p.m.
"We were all athletic and played most of the same sports," Lauren said. "And since we're the same age, we sort of went through the same stages and life experiences at the same time.
"We go to three different schools and we're all really busy, but we still make time for each other. I love them. They're my best friends."
When the triplets went off to college, Lauren originally signed with Boston College's nationally renowned program. As a freshman midfielder/forward, she played in eight games as a freshman. The Eagles won 15 games and made it to the national semifinals, where they lost to eventual champion North Carolina.
"It's a really good academic school as well as a great field hockey program," she said. "I also liked the city of Boston as I have some family in the area. That was nice, to be away from home but still at home kind of. If I needed anything, they were close to help me out.
"But obviously, that didn't work out. I had a great experience my freshman year, but it wasn't a perfect fit. I ended up here, and I love it."
She didn't love (did anyone?) the 2020 season, which because of the pandemic didn't happen until the spring of '21. Even then, the Tribe only played four regular-season games with two cancellations — the first because of COVID issues at Hofstra, the second due to weather at Northeastern.
Curran played in all five games (counting a CAA semifinal loss to Delaware) and had five shots, two on goal. This season, it has all fallen into place. She is sixth in the conference with eight goals and fifth in points with 17 (eight goals, one assist).
Curran scored the Tribe's first goal in a 2-0 win over Drexel on Oct. 15, which clinched a spot in the CAA tournament. She scored in each of the final two games of the regular season.
W&M coach
Tess Ellis believes the secret has gotten out.
"As the season goes on, people get to know a little bit more about her because last (spring), we only had five games," she said. "She's now a marked woman, which makes her life a little bit harder on the hockey field."
The Tribe (3-12) comes into the tournament having lost its last four games of the regular season, which all came after it had secured no worse than the No. 3 seed. Ellis said prior to that stretch that improvement, as well as some experimenting, would be more important than winning.
The Tribe lost it first six games of the season, but each was non-conference and four were against nationally ranked teams. It wasn't easy to take, but Curran believes those games had the desired effect.
"Early on in the season, we were still trying to figure out what players work well with who and at what positions," she said. "And how to play together as a team. The (season) before, we only had five games, and that's not much to establish yourself.
"Obviously, we would have liked a better result. But all you can ask for is improvement, and we definitely did that. Our press, our attacking movement, were all better."
