Houghton soccer player Mallory Laurn, joined by her parents Randy (left) and Chelsea (right), along with Houghton High School principal Tiffany Scullion (far left), signs her letter of intent to play for Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — While the Houghton Gremlins soccer team has only played a handful of matches in their inaugural season, they already are seeing one of their own get a chance to take their talents to the collegiate level. Mallory Laurn is very excited to be joining the Aquinas Saints this fall in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

For her, getting the chance to take her love of soccer to the next level was always the goal.

“I’m excited, just because this is something that I’ve worked towards since I was six years old,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to take soccer to the next level, and I’m so thankful and grateful that I have this opportunity to get to take it to the next level.”

Laurn, along with all of her teammates, has enjoyed being a part of the first Gremlins varsity soccer team this spring.

“We’re making history,” she said. “I think that it’s a very good step in the right direction. I’m excited to get to watch the next generation of girls come in and get to enjoy soccer as much as I did.”

While she has grown up in an area known more for hockey in the winter and then three months where ice time is harder to find, Laurn has playing a sport that is slowly gaining traction in the area thanks to organizations such as the Copper Country Soccer Association and the Houghton Football Club. She credits her parents, Randy and Chelsea, for being so supportive of her love of the game.

“It hasn’t been actually difficult because of my parents,” she said. “I have to thank them for that. They would try to get me involved in as much soccer as I possibly could, especially over the winter.”

How did she do that in her youth? Her parents found soccer camps and clubs for her to join.

“We would go do camps in Marquette, or I joined a futsal camp in Marquette over the winter, and that’s actually how I joined Marquette United club,” said Laurn. “So, that was a really good outlet for me to also be able to take soccer to the next level, because my coaches were able to help elevate my game, and my understanding, to have the college experience.”

Laurn is so proud to see soccer taking on a bigger stage locally.

“I think it’s been such a beautiful thing to be able to watch,” she said. “I remember being younger and thinking I was kind of different, or a little weird, for playing soccer, just because of how small the game is up here. But, getting to watch it grow, and become more widespread throughout the community, is very beautiful, and it makes me really proud.”

POSITIONING

Growing up, Laurn has played a variety of positions, which she has actually been really happy to have the chance to do. She feels that being a more well-rounded player has given her a chance to take advantage of the whole field.

“I like being a diverse player, because I do get to see the pitch,” she said. “I feel like (I like it) much more than if I was to stick to one specific position.

“I like just being on the field and being able to play with my teammates.”

THE MICHIGAN TECH EFFECT

When she was younger, Laurn found a home locally helping out with the Michigan Tech Huskies women’s soccer team. With an NCAA Division II program in the Copper Country, she discovered what her end goal would be.

“The girls’ team, especially when I was younger, I would go and ball shag for the girls, which is a lot of fun,” Laurn said. “That program is inspiring. To a lot of young girls up here, or even boys who like soccer, I think it’s a really good thing that we have that right in our backyard.”

BECOMING A SAINT

Aquinas became a place that Laurn was interested in once she made her way downstate and saw the campus, which she fell in love with immediately, as it reminded her of home.

“I had traveled down for a scholarship competition over the winter, got to tour the campus, and meet a lot of the people that work within the community and the college,” she said. “The campus reminded me a lot of here. It was tucked away. It was small, but it was also in a big area where I’d have a lot of opportunity to grow. Everyone in the community is super welcoming, and kind, always willing to reach out a hand if you need help. That was super important to me.”

Last season, the Saints went 17-1-4, with their only loss coming in the NAIA National Tournament’s quarterfinals to No. 1 William Carey. Coach James DeCosemo and his assistant, Jenna Smith, have 11 seniors to replace, and Laurn hopes that she will fit in quickly as one of them.

“I had gotten to talk to the coach in person when I had done the scholarship competition, and she (Smith) gave me some info about the team and kind of like what they’re about,” Laurn said. “It seems like they’re a big program. They have two separate teams. So, when you come in, if you need time to focus on academics, or just settle in, then you can start on the JV team and work your way up to varsity, which was also a big deciding factor as well, is that they are super accommodating and willing to just help you out as a person.”

Laurn plans to study pre-med and intends to pursue clinical laboratory studies.

“I hadn’t realized that it was something that I wanted to do until over the summer, actually,” she said. “I had read a book on it, kind of, and realized how much I could help people.”

BEING A GREMLIN

Earlier this spring, Laurn and her teammates took to the Houghton High School football field for their first game in program history. Getting to be a part of that moment meant a lot to her and her teammates.

“I feel like it was filled with a lot of pride and just happiness,” she said. “The girls were just overflowing with joy, because this is something that we’ve been working towards ever since joining the club sport, watching girls come in and come out, knowing that we’re carrying on not only this new legacy of becoming part of the school, but carrying on the legacy of those girls that came before us, too.”

The Gremlins won that first game, defeating Iron Mountain in the process.

“It felt really good,” she said, with a wide smile. “Yeah, it was really good.”

LEAVING A LEGACY

It has not really sunk in yet for her that Laurn is already something of a celebrity due to being a part of the first Gremlins varsity team, but she does hope that inspires the next generation of soccer players.

“I hope that girls, young girls, or girls, realize that it doesn’t matter how old you are, or how young you are, that you can take it to the next level,” she said. “You just have to work and find the right people to help you take it there. But, also remember that you did this for yourself and that you brought yourself here.”