With the support of her family, high school coaches - and nearly the entire Bridgeport High School soccer team - Reagan Lesher signed a letter of intent today to continue her soccer career at Fairmont State University.

 

The forward/midfielder was team captain and 2016 Lady Indians player of the year. Coach John Reese said he has no doubt she will excel as a member of the Fighting Falcon soccer team.

 

“First of all, Reagan is a hard worker. She’ll do whatever a coach asks her to do and play any position she’s ask to play,” Reese said. “She’s done that for me for four years.”

 

A versatile player, Lesher is also very athletic and fast.

 

“Coaches like a lot of speed and she has a lot of speed, so that’s an advantage for her,” Reese said.

 

Lesher’s quickness, in fact, is why Reese said he originally had her playing forward.

 

“But later in the season, we needed some midfielders so we moved her back to the center mid spot and she did wonderful there, but at the end of the season we lost both of our center backs,” he said. “I was going to go with someone else, but Reagan said, ‘Coach, I can play that position and they won’t score.’ So she came back and played center back during the playoffs.”

In addition to her soccer skills and other athletic attributes, Lesher has been a great team leader for the Lady Indians.

 

“She always gets the girls together and is always positive with her teammates,” Reese said. “In college, she’s going to need to do that too. She just has so much going for her. We’re really going to miss her.”

 

The four-year BHS starter will fit in quite nicely with the FSU soccer program, he said.

 

“It’s a very new program and they need defense. They have some attackers and they have some midfielders,” he said. “They asked me if she could play defense and I said absolutely. As an outside winger, that’s where she’s fitted best for college. She’s so fast, she can get forward and she’s scored goals before, so she knows how to do that. An outside defender does get shots and does get the chance to go one-on-one with defenders. She can beat the defenders and take it on in. She has the speed to recover.”

 

Lesher looks forward to seeing what she can do on the college field. She’s been playing soccer since she was four years old and continuing the sport on a collegiate level is the next logical step.

 

"It's something I've always done and I love the game," she said.

 

Fairmont State is close to home, which she likes. It also fits in nicely with both her athletic and academic pursuits.

 

"I'm excited to play for (Coach Brandon Heembrock). I've heard a lot of good things about him,” she said. “And Fairmont State tied in with my field of study, which is nursing.”

 

It will be cool, Lesher said, to play a season with BHS graduate Alexis Lindsay. Lindsey was a senior at BHS when Lesher was a freshman. That same scenario will play out during Lesher’s first year and Lindsey’s last year with the Fighting Falcon soccer team.

 

Lesher said she has loved being part of the Lady Indians soccer team and playing for Coach Reese - who has taught her a lot. Not surprisingly, some of her favorite memories with team are sectional and regional victories, which led BHS all the way to state runners-up in 2013 and 2014.

"I'll always remember making it to the state tournaments - and especially the state championship, but I've also loved getting to know all of these girls," she said.

 

Lesher joined BHS teammates Catie Wilson, Kaitlin Smith and Rory Marple in earning second team Class A/AA All-State Soccer honors in 2016. Lesher had done the same in 2015. Multiple years, she was named first team All-Harrison County and All-Big 10. 

 

Lesher's signing was held at 12 p.m. Thursday at the BHS library. She is pictured with parents Terry and Elliott, brother Brayden, Coach John Reese, Assistant Coach Valerie Barlow, former Assistant Coach Melissa Miller and her 2016 Lady Indians soccer teammates.