Rogers goaltender and senior captain Lauren Larson commits to Sacred Heart

ROGERS, Minn. — Rogers goaltender Lauren Larson is the second player on her team this season to earn a Division I commitment, and the second Minnesotan in recent months to commit to Sacred Heart University.

The Royals are currently 3-2 this year and Larson boasts a .960 save percentage over those five games.

The netminder was one of the key's to Rogers success in 2021-22, going 20-5-2 overall. Larson had a 1.30 goals-against-average that season with a .936 save percentage over the entire year.

"I'd say I move well and have good awareness of the ice and what's going on in front of me," said the netminder on her strengths in goal.

The Rogers native started the long and difficult college recruiting process about a year and a half ago, and eventually found Sacred Heart University.

Sacred Heart is a private university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, a city about an hour southwest of the capitol city of Hartford and about 90 minutes northeast of New York City.

On Nov. 29, Larson announced her commitment to the Division I program on her social media pages.

"I just really liked the culture of the school and the team. The coaches were just really nice and honest, which I appreciated," said Larson about her decision.

Another aspect of the school that was exciting to the senior goaltender is that the Pioneers are almost finished with building their brand new hockey rink.

The Martire Family Arena is set to officially open in January of 2023 and teams have just recently been allowed to skate on the brand new ice for the very first time. Previously, the Pioneers were skating at rinks off-campus.

Larson will be a part of the very first class to use the arena for an entire season.

The 17-year-old Minnesotan is the second player from the state in recent months to commit to SHU, after Lakeville North forward Addie Bowlby announced her commitment to the program in late-October.

Larson is also the second player on her team so far this season to commit to a Division I program after teammate Avery Achterkirch committed to Bemidji State.

The Rogers native got her start in the sport of hockey around fourth grade after spending a couple years previously in figure skating. She eventually tried the goaltender position and has been in net ever since.

The game of hockey is now something that runs in the Larson family. "My dad played hockey for a really long time, throughout high school, and I have a younger brother that plays hockey too."

Now acting as a senior captain for the Royals, Larson has found a way to lead the team even though she spends most minutes of the game in net.

"I just focus on actions over words and working as hard as I can so other girls can see that, whether that's picking up the pace at practice or connecting with them off the ice as well," she said.

The Royals had a superb record last season as a team but unfortunately were upset in the Section 5AA semifinal game to Centennial/Spring Lake Park. This year, the team is hoping to make a deep section run and to get to the state tournament.

Larson says that the season has gone well so far. The Royals are 3-2, with their only losses coming to top-ranked Andover and Edina. The netminder says that the squad has some big shoes to fill this season to replace some of the seniors of 2021-22, but that there are plenty of young talented girls ready to take on the challenge.

When Larson isn't on the ice, she can be found playing lacrosse, cooking, or spending time with her dog.

The senior captain will finish up her high school career this year with Rogers before heading out to Sacred Heart in the fall of 2023.

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