By: Jake Hughes ’19 and Daniel Bugaev ’19
Tyler Stott was a very well known name around Central Mass soccer last year and is now known amongst the Collegiate level of the Atlantic Coastal Conference. Stott was a Central Mass all-star and earned all-state mentionings his last two years of high school. He was also named All New England his senior year. Stott also helped lead his team to the state championship back in 2016. In the 2016 state semi-final game, Tyler scored a game-winning diving header in overtime to send the boys to the state championship.
Last year, he was a captain, alongside five of his best friends, and led his team to the district semifinals where they lost in double overtime on a deflection goal to Marlborough. This was a heartbreaking way to end his high school career, but he had Boston College soccer to look forward to and prepare for, so there was no looking back.
Stott has impressively started five out of six games thus far in his freshman debut. BC has a record of 2-1-3 (9/18/18), recently dropping their first game to number seven ranked Louisville 0-1. Stott came off the bench this game, playing fifty-nine minutes against some of the best players in the country. His coach, Ed Kelly, was also the coach of Stott’s club team NEFC (2017 National Champions) and has a lot of trust in Stott to succeed this year.
The success that Stott has produced is not surprising, but not many thought that he would start his first five games, including Stott himself.
“Going into the season I wanted to be confident and expected to get at least some playing time as a freshman. I knew I would have to fight to earn playing time. I did not expect to come in as a freshman and start the first 5 games. I hope I am able to continue to prove myself on the field throughout the rest of the season,” comments Stott.
BC is in arguably the most competitive conference in the country. The ACC includes teams like Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, Clemson, Louisville, Notre Dame, and Syracuse.
The ACC is a great competitive nature for Stott: “I love being able to play these teams who have the top players in the country. If you want to be the best you have to be able to compete with the best. Also, I think it will make me a better player being able to keep up with this caliber of players. I wouldn’t rather play in any other league than the ACC.”
When asked if he misses high school soccer, Stott says, “I miss playing with my friends but I do not miss the level of soccer. College soccer is much more fitting for me”.
For high school athletes that may be interested in competing at a collegiate level, it’s important to know what the differences are between high school and college sports.
“High school soccer and college soccer are completely different. I would say high school soccer is more just for fun and the level of soccer is pretty low. In college, everyone worked very hard to earn a spot on the team and everyone is fighting for playing time. Also in college, even the practices are much more intense because everyone puts 100% into it.”
Stott has found his groove on and off the field with the help of his athletic advisors and coaches. Being a student-athlete in high school is significantly different from being one in college: “Managing classes with soccer is definitely challenging but it works out. Every day except for Wednesdays I have 2 classes and then practice. The only tough part is when I have games during the week because I have to miss class and make up the work. The athletic advisors do a great job of helping us with our schedule.”
Stott states his future goals as the following: “My goals for the future with soccer are to keep getting better and getting playing time for BC over my collegiate years. The ideal situation for me would be to play soccer professionally. If that does not work out, I am not sure what I would want to do yet.”
The freshman star surely has a future at a professional level if he keeps putting in the work. Considering the fact that he is starting for a division one team his freshman year, the sky’s the limit for this Westborough High School alum.
