Drive to succeed takes Verrette sisters far

Katy and Kristin Verrette complement each other very well. Both sisters play the same soccer position – center midfield – for different teams.Older sister Katy plays for Salem State. Younger sister Kristin plays at Bishop Fenwick. Both are seniors at their respective schools (there is a Crusader connection, as Katy graduated from Fenwick in 2007).Ironically, they never played a game together at Fenwick, but soccer is still something that has kept them close over the years ? and something that will likely keep them close next year, when Kristin begins her freshman year at Sacred Heart University in Hartford.”We’re close,” Katy Verrette said last week. “Very, very close.””We’re always together,” Kristin Verrette agreed. “We’re a close family. We talk every day.”Learning and teachingKaty Verrette learned soccer after her parents asked her if she wanted to play. She began playing for a travel team in Saugus when she was between 8 and 10 years old.”I fell in love with it,” she said.Asked why she likes the game, she said, “I made so many friends. It taught me responsibility, how to be dedicated. I love playing the game. It’s an outlet. In practice, on the field, I don’t have to think about anything else. That’s what I like.”She liked it so much that she taught the game to her younger sister (they are four years apart; they have an older sister, Michelle, who is married with a baby and is a middle school teacher in Chelsea). Kristin Verrette has been playing since she was five.”We’d go outside and play together, (she) watching me,” Katy Verrette said. “She learned it. She’s a very good soccer player.”At Fenwick, Katy Verrette played her first three seasons under former coach Jose Isidro and her senior year – when she served as a captain – under current coach Karen Guillemette. Her honors included All-Star recognition all four years.She chose to attend college – and follow her dream of studying nursing – close by, at Salem State.”At Division 1, I would not have been able to focus on education,” she said. “Salem State was perfect. It’s close to home, I could play soccer, and I could do nursing. Education comes first.”One Verrette left Fenwick ? and another arrived.Plenty of goals accomplishedKristin Verrette has played varsity all four years at Fenwick. She is an offensive center midfielder (and forward). Her highlights include scoring the tying goal of a postseason game against North Reading last year. The Crusaders won that game on penalty kicks and advanced to the North semifinals against Danvers, where they lost.Verrette has scored almost 70 goals for Fenwick in her career to date. The school career record in girls soccer is 84.She has scored in all of her team’s games thus far this season as the Crusaders have rocketed to a 4-0 start. She scored four in the opener against Austin Prep and two more in the second game against Marblehead. On Monday she scored one in a 2-0 win over St. Mary’s (with one assist) and yesterday she had another in a 2-0 win over Archbishop Williams.In January of this year, she made a decision regarding where she would attend college, verbally committing to Sacred Heart.”I really liked the school and coach,” she said. “I thought it would be a good choice for me.”Hartford is two hours away from her home, and one hour from New York City. She will also be close to other schools, including UConn, Quinnipiac and Fairfield. As for the Sacred Heart campus, she said, “It’s really beautiful.”She plans to study business in college, as she is considering a career in pharmaceutical sales.”I like to talk to people,” she said. “I’m a very social person.”The road aheadKaty Verrette seems to have thrived for SSC coach Nicolle Wood’s team as a defensive center midfielder. Last year, she played in 17 games, starting 16. Her six assists (four coming in Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference games) led the Vikings in 2009. This year, she is a captain.”I play up and down the field,” she said.She balances her soccer sche