Former Trojan makes it to the Big Leagues
Former Troy soccer player Lauren Aldrich has been a referee for as long as she can remember.
Currently, she referees at the professional levels, which includes the National Women’s Soccer League and the United Soccer League. While, it’s been quite a journey to professional refereeing, but a two-year stint in the Troy womens’ soccer uniform helped shape Aldrich into the person she is today.
“I have a lot of lessons learned from Troy,” Aldrich said. “I still use them to this day in my refereeing, in my approach to the sport and through coaching.
“I have a lot to thank Troy for, and it was one of the best times in my life. I really enjoyed college soccer, and I absolutely loved the campus.”
A 2019 graduate of Troy, Aldrich’s almost fate-driven journey to refereeing began all the way back in high school. However, the Southhampton, Massachusetts, native followed her mother's footsteps into soccer first.
“I started having a connection with soccer probably when I was four years old,” Aldrich said. “My parents would take me to their pickup games.
“It was just an adult league, and my mom played back when she was in college. My parents tell me the story that they’d set me up over by the goal while my dad played goalkeeper for my mom’s adult league.”
In high school, Aldrich was a multi-sport star, playing basketball, soccer and running track for her high school, all while doing a job on the side that would turn into much more than she could ever imagine.
“I started out as a basketball referee and did our local town league,” Aldrich said. “Then I went to college and my parents said, ‘Hey, you should look into getting a job.’
“Refereeing was something I was already used to, so I ended up intramural refereeing at UMass Lowell. Then when I transferred to Troy, I got involved in its intramurals.”
Aldrich refereed intramurals all while being a Division I athlete of her own and pursuing a degree in criminal justice. Throw in a transfer from UMass Lowell to Troy, a 20-hour commute, and Aldrich had a lot on her plate. Especially with the weather.
“I will never forget my first week in Troy,” Aldrich said. “My dad helped me move in, and we took a giant van from Massachusetts to Alabama.
“I remember I worked out that week and trying to get used to the weather because we had a bunch of fitness tests we had to do. [The humidity] felt like somebody had just put a giant weighted blanket on me.”
Even Aldrich’s journey to the wiregrass is unconventional. Aldrich followed a coach and culture she technically wasn’t even a part, or had even fully met, yet.
“Coach Ged applied for the job up at UMass Lowell,” Aldrich said. “We had a coaching change and UMass Lowell allowed us to meet the candidates for the position.
“He didn’t personally meet us, but he spoke to all of us about his coaching style and what to expect.”
The conversation with Coach Ged O’Connor, who would instead take the Troy job, left a lasting impressive on Aldrich. So much so that when she entered the transfer portal the following spring, she knew who to reach out to.
“He never actually personally met me,” Aldrich said. “I just got to be someone who was a fly on the wall when he spoke at UMass Lowell.
“I just spoke to him about how I thought I would be a good fit, and I ended up taking a bit of a chance. I didn’t visit Troy before I went, and my only touch point was Coach Ged.”
In two years at Troy, Aldrich started 37 of the 40 games she appeared in while totaling just north of 3,000 minutes. She also added a goal and four assists over the two seasons as a defender.
That was seven years ago. Now, Aldrich is a referee for some of North American soccer’s biggest leagues, including the NWSL, USL Super League, USL League One and MLS Next Pro to name a few. However, the career can have its tough moments, especially with mental health.
“Refereeing has taught me the importance of accountability when it comes to taking responsibility for my mental health,” Aldrich said about taking care of her mental health. “Being super passionate about something is fantastic, but it can also make you susceptible to attaching your values as a human to it if left unchecked.
“There are ebbs and flows to it like anything else but remaining disciplined to prioritizing my mental health is one of the ways I try to best set myself up for success.”
The Troy grad found her footing in the refereeing world, refereeing a game as recently as Sept. 4, a USL Super League match between DC Power FC and Sporting JAX.
In a career that literally resembles a ladder, Aldrich looks to continue to work her way up match after match.
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