Melissa Lookingland started playing soccer at age four.  She plays forward for the Patriots, but plays defense for her club team, Laurel Lightning.  The strong competition in soccer appeals to Lookingland because she has “an intense competitive nature.”  Her greatest challenge throughout her four years at JC has been to remain in the starting line-up.  Coach Gary Lynch chose her to be captain of the women’s varsity soccer team last fall because he could see that she would “take the high standards she used to judge herself to encourage the other players to have high expectations of themselves.”  Her favorite JC soccer memory is the team’s trip to New Jersey because “the team bonded together.”  She is going to play Division I soccer for St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania.

Rachel Kokoska can be reached for comment at [email protected].