CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WV News) — After stuffing the stat sheet for Robert C. Byrd girls soccer, Olivia Lowther is ready to take the next step.
By putting up a team-high 13 goals and 19 assists this past fall, Lowther established herself as a unanimous first-team all-county midfielder and cemented a place on next season’s women’s soccer roster at Fairmont State University. On Friday, Lowther made her decision official, signing a letter of intent to join the Fighting Falcons.
Lowther was a dangerous attacking force for the Flying Eagles, using her speed and command to get into dangerous positions and finish scoring chances. But she was even better at creating opportunities for others — her 19 assists amounted to nearly half of RCB’s team total for the 2022 season, according to stats available on MaxPreps.
She plays a similar role as a point guard for the Eagles’ basketball team, orchestrating the offense and dishing out helpers for a team currently ranked seventh in Class AAA.
Lowther said she has been playing soccer since she was 5 or 6 years old, and by late middle school or early high school, she began to see it as something she could pursue at the college level. Fairmont State was in the picture almost from the start.
“I had been going to their camps during middle school,” Lowther said. “I went to their ID camp this (past) summer, and then I had been talking to the coaches since my junior year.”
Lowther said she attended a number of FSU’s games during the process — and she probably liked what she saw as the Falcons wound up winning the Mountain East Conference championship this past fall and reached the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time.
“I really like their campus, and I like their soccer program and the coaches there,” Lowther said. “It was close to home, but at the same time far enough away.”
Both of Lowther’s athletic pursuits at RCB helped her develop the mentality necessary to compete at the next level.
“I play both soccer and basketball, and they’ve both had good cultures where you need to work hard and put in the time, so hopefully that helps me carry over into college,” she said.
Lowther said she hopes to continue as a midfielder for FSU but is willing to play anywhere she can to help the team. Off the field, she plans to major in exercise science.
“I want to go into something medical, but I’m not sure what I want to do yet, so hopefully that can keep it open for me to decide later,” Lowther said.
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