By Josh Perry, Managing Editor
Hockomock Sports
Last fall, Stoughton alum Alicia Macomber had a season for the ages. The junior striker set a Worcester State record with 18 goals and led the Lancers to a 14-4-1 record, including a perfect 7-0 in the MASCAC. Macomber added a pair of goals in the overtime win against Bridegwater State in the conference tournament semifinal and the lone goal in the final against Westfield State.
Her remarkable season was recognized by the league, as she was named MASCAC Tournament MVP, MASCAC First Team, and the MASCAC Player of the Year.
It was a long way from the high school player who was recruited to Worcester State to run track, from the freshman who was moved to outside midfielder rather than her natural striker position, and from the player who spent two seasons sharing time on the pitch without claiming a regular role.
“I worked out and ran every day for three months and went to the gym, played soccer all summer,” explained Macomber, who enters the season as the program’s fourth leading scorer with 31 career goals.
She added, “I came in very, very prepared for knowing that I was playing a different position… Last year was me having to step up and play striker and score the goals for the team.”
Macomber did not start off the 2014 season with visions of winning the Player of the Year, especially after she failed to find the back of the net in the opening two games. But, in game three against Rhode Island College, she netted a hat trick in a 9-0 win. She would go on to score two next time out against WPI and one in each of the two that followed.
“There was a progression of games where I was scoring more and more,” she reflected. “I had to have the confidence knowing that I was one of the players that the team was counting on to score. So, once it started hitting the back of the net I knew that I had to keep doing it.”
As the season wore on and the goals continued to pour in, Macomber was regularly honored by the league with its Player of the Week awards. “At one point I got three in a row,” she said, “and I remember thinking that maybe I could win Player of the Year.”
“I always wanted that title.”
On the day that the awards were to be handed out, Macomber sat in front of her computer in her room hitting refresh for most of the day in hope that her name would pop up on the screen. She laughed and added, “Then I saw the headline. I was in my room, it was a great feeling.”
When asked if she thought coming into college that she would win Player of the Year awards, Macomber replied that it was “beyond” anything she could have imagined. She had set the Stoughton High 55-meter hurdles record and was expected to run track at Worcester State until she convinced soccer coach Kevin Cumberbatch to watch a few of her club games with Mass Premier and a few of her performances for the Black Knights.
It was a reverse of the typical recruiting situation but it worked for Macomber who impressed the coaching staff enough that she took her turn on the pitch rather than the track when she arrived in Worcester.
One part of her dream was fulfilled, but there were still frustrations when she joined the program. As a freshman, Macomber was pushed into a new role on the right side of midfield and she struggled to understand her new responsibilities. Her sophomore season was similar as she split time with a starting senior.
“That’s what I’ve always played,” said Macomber, “so when I started out at outside mid it was very different for me because I had never played that position. I feel more at home as the striker up top.”
Given the chance last fall to make the forward position her own, Macomber jumped in with both feet. She prepared all summer in the gym and on the field, but she also developed physically and became, in her words, a more “mature” player.
She explained, “I feel like it’s all about maturity. My body has matured and it’s very different coming from high school soccer to college soccer is a big leap. It’s a lot more physical and it’s a lot more challenging, fast-paced.”
“It was finally good to achieve everything that I wanted to in one season.”
The Lancers also had an experienced core of six seniors, including Attleboro alum Margo Clifford, who dominated the midfield and helped create the chances that Macomber put away.
This year presents new challenges for the senior captain. Not only is she expected to repeat her 2014 season and contend again for MASCAC Player of the Year, while being hounded by the opposition defense, but she is also expected to be the leader of the young Lancers on and off the field.
“Coming in this season I feel like there are people looking at me to lead the team and basically repeat what I did last year,” she said. “If I don’t achieve what i did last year then it will be a little bit of a downer for me.”
When asked if she was feeling any pressure from those expectations, Macomber admitted, “Oh yeah. It’s a lot.”
“It’s a lot of pressure because we have nine freshman on the team this year. They’re looking at what i did and wanting me to repeat it. It’s a different role; I’m not just playing now I have to be a role model.”
Few star players can provide as much advice to young teammates about the need to keep working hard and to take their chances when presented.
“I tell them that if they are working hard, coach will know and he will play you,” said Macomber. “I tell them not to get down on themselves if they’re not playing as much as they want to because they’re going to get their chance to show coach what they can do.”
“They look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them the first two years I didn’t start.”
After Worcester State opened the season with a defeat to Wheaton, the Lancers bounced back with a comfortable win at RIC, with Macomber picking up an assist, and then she scored her first of the season to provide the win at MIT.
She is also looking to finish her degree in Criminal Justice with the goal of attending law school in two years. Her experiences on the pitch have given her confidence that she can face what the future holds whether it’s the opposition for the rest of the season or life after college.
“I’ve grown up a lot,” Macomber said. “I think that I’ve done the work I needed to in order to come that far. There’s nothing stopping me from going farther than I expect.”
Worcester State is currently 2-1-1 and will face crosstown rival WPI on Tuesday.
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