Editor’s Note: Sowers was misspelled in the article but has been corrected.

Sophomore Law and Justice major, Siena Sowers recently earned the first two starts of her career for Rowan women’s soccer.

One of the main reasons why head coach Scott Leacott gave her the starting nod played hand-in-hand with why she was recruited to Rowan in the first place.

“The first thing that stood out was her work rate,” Leacott said. “She was up and down the field, just looked like a kid who gave it everything she had. That is what she’s done this year. She has learned a lot from her freshman year. Because of that, she has filled her role very nicely.”

Rowan offered Sowers the best of both worlds with what she wanted from her college experience.

“I was having a hard time initially deciding between my major and soccer,” Sowers said. “I have always loved soccer so much that I knew it was a part of me. One of my high school coaches inspired and allowed me to be recruited by Rowan, and I fell in love with it right away.”

Sowers played in 11 games her freshman year but only played for 69 minutes. Compare that to this season, where she’s played in seven games so far but has played 262 minutes. Take out the two games where she started and played all 90 minutes, and she would still have played more in five games than she did in her 11 games last year.

In addition to Sowers’ work ethic, Rowan’s backline has sustained multiple injuries throughout the season, and as a result, Leacott called Sowers’ number to be a starter after establishing herself as one of the team’s top subs.

“A lot of the reason she started was because of the injuries we have,” Leacott said. “I thought she had a really good training camp. The first week or two of the season, I did not think she was playing to the best of her ability. Then, she picked it up again in training. I hope she has good training sessions in back-to-back 90-minute games. It is a relief to know someone can fill in like that with injuries.”

After training hard for two seasons, the feeling of seeing her hard work pay off was quite a moment for Sowers.

“It was really emotional for me,” Sowers said. “I felt I had been working really hard. I knew it was coming, I just wasn’t sure when. When it finally happened, I knew it was my moment. It was a big step.”

With Sowers being a natural outside back and her replacing the injured Cali Sloan, it meant either Julianna Giordano or Manon Bada would have to move inside.

“We do have other center backs we could play,” Leacott said. “But we thought we needed speed in the centerback position. Moving Siena to the leftback position is where she trains all the time. Julianna can basically play anywhere and be comfortable. It was a decision we did not take lightly, but we figured out it would work out best for us.”

Rowan won both games that Sowers started in. Specifically, in Rowan’s game against New Jersey City University (NJCU), you could see Sowers flash her best skill on the field.

“I’m known for my speed,” Sowers said. “I do like to run around a lot. People say, ‘Look at her go, she is running back and forth on the sides.’ If I get the ball or someone passes me the ball, I will run out and go all out for it.”

Her speed was evident against a fast team like NJCU. That was a game in which goalie Calista Burke had a shutout, and in her two starts, opposing teams have scored a combined one goal. In the two games before she started, the opposing team scored five goals.

With just conference games remaining on Rowan’s schedule, Sowers has goals she would like to meet before the end of the season.

“I want to keep improving as a player and person,” Sowers said. “I want to help my team and get us more wins and further in the conference. I also just want to have a good time. I think a lot of people put a lot of stress on being an athlete in college. I want to be able to balance that out. I want to enjoy being with friends because these people are going to be the people you focus on in college.”

It is unknown if Sowers will continue to get consistent starts when the Profs’ backline fully heals. Sowers can only control her level of play, but it seems like her earning more starts in the future is certainly within the realm of possibilities.

“I don’t know what is even gonna happen next game,” Leacott said. “Are we getting people back, or are we gonna move Julianna back to her natural position? Right now, we are taking it day by day.”

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