LANDER – One of the best players that the Lander Valley High School (LVHS) soccer teams have ever seen is rocking and rolling this season, and now she’s going to bring her talents up to Washington to play college soccer.
That Lady Tiger is senior Delaney Sullivan, and she’s currently leading the team with ten goals on the season (as of May 3). This past Monday, Sullivan signed her letter of intent to play soccer at the next level with the Yakima Valley College Yaks in Yakima, Washington.
“It’s about 15 hours away, which seems far but that’s what I wanted,” Sullivan said about her decision. “My goal was to get out wherever I could … I wanted to go to a different climate, maybe I’ll hate it but maybe I won’t.”
Not only does Sullivan lead the Lady Tigers in goals but she has a few assists to her name this season as well. She plays unselfish soccer much more often in her senior year due to, not only her experience but, the way she gets double-teamed whenever the ball heads her way.
That’s because of just how dangerous she is with her speed and accuracy, something she hopes to bring to Yakima as the center forward on the Lady Yaks’ team.
“I told Josh [Vega], the coach at Yakima, that when he signs me I’m going to be … at center forward where I’m at now,” Sullivan said. “We’re bringing up a lot of speed and hopefully we can attack with our strong top six because we don’t have a strong back line.”
Sullivan has known for quite some time that Yakima was one of the best places she could land, stating that she’s been talking with Coach Vega all the way back in the summer between her sophomore and junior season.
“I’ve been in contact with [Vega] since the end of my sophomore year but I finally got the opportunity to go up there in October and I fell in love with it,” Sullivan said with a smile. “I actually saw a fall season, not just summer to winter like here. It was really pretty.”
Sullivan also said that she fell in love with Seattle when she traveled up to Washington before the soccer season, saying that she can see herself there for awhile even if she doesn’t stay at Yakima very long.
“I’m hoping to transfer out after my first year but if not I’ll have two years and I’ll stay with Josh and the rest of the team so I’ll be okay,” Sullivan said.
The LVHS senior plays her final home game of her Lady Tiger career on Pink Night before traveling to Cody for a tough game heading into the 3A State Soccer Tournament in Green River in two weeks. All games mentioned will be available to watch for free on WyoToday’s YouTube page.