South Hadley’s Lauren Marjanski signs National Letter of Intent to play soccer at Siena College

South Hadley’s Lauren Marjanski signs her National Letter of Intent to play soccer at Siena College on Monday in the library at South Hadley High School.

South Hadley’s Lauren Marjanski signs her National Letter of Intent to play soccer at Siena College on Monday in the library at South Hadley High School. STAFF PHOTO/GARRETT COTE

South Hadley’s Lauren Marjanski smiles with her parents Tracy and Rich after signing her National Letter of Intent to play soccer at Siena College on Monday in the library at South Hadley High School.

South Hadley’s Lauren Marjanski smiles with her parents Tracy and Rich after signing her National Letter of Intent to play soccer at Siena College on Monday in the library at South Hadley High School. STAFF PHOTO/GARRETT COTE

By GARRETT COTE

Staff Writer

Published: 04-22-2024 4:55 PM

SOUTH HADLEY — Lauren Marjanski panicked for a brief moment.

The South Hadley senior and College of Saint Rose commit had just found out the school she was going to play soccer at next fall would be shutting down after summer classes at the end of June due to financial losses and plummeting enrollment. She would have to re-open her recruiting process and play elsewhere.

And after that quick second of uncertainty, she went right to work reaching out to coaches and putting together more film of her dominating competition across the state.

“It was kind of a panicking moment for me,” Marjanski said. “But we were able to figure it out and it eventually all worked out.”

On Monday afternoon, Marjanski’s decision became official. Four months of searching for her new home came to a close when she signed her National Letter of Intent to attend and compete for Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y. at the Division 1 level.

Friends and family poured into South Hadley high school’s library to congratulate Marjanski.

“It was definitely a very accomplishing and fulfilling moment for me,” Marjanski said. “After all I’ve worked for over these past four years, to have everyone here to support me was just a great feeling.”

Not many athletes have to go through the recruiting process twice. But the good news for Marjanski was it allowed her to make a new highlight reel that included her stellar moments from senior year. The old tape had clips from junior year, which were still clearly good enough to turn high-caliber programs’ heads in her direction.

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But this new one was different, with it capturing just how good her 54-point (43 goals, 11 assists) campaign was – leading South Hadley to the MIAA Division 4 state championship game. It allowed her to have a pool of Division 1 programs to choose from this time around.

“We had to start all over, but the good thing about it is we had already finished our season,” Tigers head coach, and Lauren’s father, Rich Marjanski said. “Her season was amazing, so we were able to take all that fresh video and put together a new highlight tape for her.”

When it came time to make her decision (again), Lauren Marjanski didn’t hesitate. It was clear where she wanted to play after a visit to Siena’s campus. Siena head coach Steve Karbowski and the way the Saints, which compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Assocation (MAAC), played both stood out to Marjanski.

“I loved the coach and the campus,” Lauren Marjanski said. “Siena was the size that I was looking for, and especially the team, watching them play, I could see myself fitting in there perfectly.”

Throughout her four years on varsity at South Hadley, Marjanski accomplished countless awards and honors while scoring over 100 goals and tallying over 150 points. She became the first female athlete in school history to earn All-New England honors multiple times.

Her time with the Tigers has prepared her for the next level, and it’s something she won’t forget for the rest of her life.

“It was a lot of fun and definitely very exciting,” Lauren Marjanski said. “All of the people I got to do it with and everything that we accomplished, it was very memorable.”