LYNN — After serving as a spark plug for the St. Mary’s girls soccer team’s offense during her time as a Spartan, Salem native Kayla Demers has announced her plans to continue her soccer career at the next level.
After weighing her options Demers found the right fit at Division 3 Westfield State University.
“I was struggling to find a place to go to school and just waited to look for the right team to play for,” Demers said. “I was mostly looking at Division 3 schools like Johnson and Wales and Bridgwater State but Westfield stood out.
“One thing that stood out was the coaches were persistent,” Demers said. “They took the time to watch my highlights and wanted me straight off the bat. There were consistent with phone calls to talk about my position and the financial support and figuring the right type of package for me worked out great.”
Highlights came in bunches for Demers last fall as she capped off her career as a four year starter. Demers powered the Spartans offense with 10 goals on her way to earning Eastern Mass all-star honors in her senior season.
But it wasn’t individual or team accomplishments that Demers will end up taking away from her time with her Spartans teammates.
“During practice and games it wasn’t about winning all the time,” Demers said. “We learned that you can’t expect that you’re not going to win all the time. We became a family and you have to play together to accomplish any success. I made some amazing friendships and really grew as a player. My four years at St. Mary’s were an honor.”
Demers was also an honor to coach for St. Mary’s head coach Jim Foley, who saw her speed and goal-scoring ability on full display during her time on the field.
“She was the fastest player on the team,” Foley said. “She scored some big goals to help lift us with that speed and I expect that carry over when she plays next year too.”
A leg injury her sophomore year put a speed bump in the middle of Demers Spartans career but as her senior season showed she didn’t lose a step.
“Her sophomore year she had an ACL injury and lost half a season,” Foley said. “Her junior year was more about the comeback from that. Then her senior year was great, scoring 10 goals and being named an Eastern Mass all-star.”
Demers already felt comfortable at Westfield when she was able to visit before things got shut down this spring and plans to major in Biology.
“I haven’t seen everything so I’m still looking forward to going to an orientation,” Demers said. “I’ve met some of my teammates and the ones I have, I love them already. I toured the Biology department and have my room picked.”
Between now and the fall Demers primary focus is to gain some strength as she plans on seeing some much tougher opposition.
“I’m not really doing too much but I’m hoping to do more after (the coronavirus pandemic) is over,” Demers said. “I really need to change my diet, I’m a small girl and obviously I’ll be going up against grown 22, 23-year-old women. So I’m changing that up and working out. I definitely plan on being ready for the season.”
