For most college athletes, coming off not just one, but two ACL tears can be nearly impossible to recover from. For SU freshman Lauren Gold, that could not be further from the truth.

In high school, Gold started at Abington Friends High School, where she earned two varsity letters under head coach Jeff Bond. She averaged 17.4 points, 3.5 steals and 3.4 assists during her varsity career as a starter.

However, after the torn ACLs, Gold was no longer the top prospect those numbers had shown.

“There were D1 schools looking at me,” Gold said. “But once I tore my ACL’s, the schools stopped calling.”

The schools may have stopped calling, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Following the second surgery, Gold decided to attend Shippensburg University, which she said was an easy call to make.

“Coming in as a freshman everybody was nice, my coaches were nice,” Gold explained. “When I came here for my tryout, I liked it a lot, the team was nice from the start, so it has been good.”

Gold arrived at SU in the fall and has made the transition from a former high school star to college standout, but not without a few hardships any new college student has to face.

“I did not know what to expect,” Gold said. “But, after talking to a few of the girls on the team, they were able to help me get through it.”

The college process is certainly a different one than high school, but for Gold, she’s taking it all in stride.

Aside from adjusting to life off the court, there are the matters on the court as well, mainly preparing for opponents coming up on the schedule.

The freshman guard explained the biggest difference is the scouting. In her days at Abington Friends, there was not a lot of research about upcoming opponents but as a Raider she is always watching film, trying to gain a competitive edge over her next opponent.

Gold is leading the Raiders to another successful season following last season’s 20–8 record as well as going 16–6 in PSAC play.

The Raiders are currently 17–8 as well as a respectable 11–4 in PSAC games.

The four-time PSAC East freshman of the week has been an X-factor in her freshmen season at SU.

After earning PSAC Eastern division women’s player of the week on Feb. 17 averaging 16.5 points and three assists in an undefeated 2–0 Raiders week, Gold says there are no intentions of slowing down.

“Coming into school as a freshman, everybody knows you are the youngest on the floor. But when I am out there, I just forget all of that and go out there and play the best that I can,” Gold said.

Currently, the Abington Friends grad is averaging 13.2 points per game, notching her 22nd in the PSAC. Gold currently leads the PSAC and is sixth in all of D II in free throw percentage at .908. She is also the only PSAC player in the Top 30 for free throw percentage in all of D II.

Gold is also ranked third in the PSAC in assists per game with 4.7.

Even after all of her early career individual moments, Gold is focused on her team’s playoff push that is quickly approaching.

A big advantage for the Raiders that many other teams may not have is cohesiveness, on and off the floor.

This team is very close, Gold explained. They spend just as much time off the floor together as they do on it and that is a big chemistry boost that these ladies have.

This is a bright, young team that is ready to make some noise in the post-season this year. With a dynamic scorer like Gold leading the way for three more seasons, this is not going to be a one-time thing. A successful Raider team is here to stay.

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