Heading for Hungary

As a spark plug forward on the Boston College women's soccer team, Lauren Berman was one of the most blue-collar, gritty footballers on the collegiate pitch. She was the type of player who helped form the cornerstone of a program, a fifth-year senior who started all 20 games this past year as a captain of the Eagles.

With her college career officially over, Berman will now embark on the next chapter of her soccer career. The Canton, Massachusetts native will head to Europe and sign with MTK Hungaria FC, the reigning Hungarian women's league champion based out of the capital city in Budapest.

"I'm very excited," Berman said. "A bunch of my teammates reached out through social media and have already welcomed me. They haven't had a ton of foreign-born players (on the club), so this is really a first type of situation for them. Obviously, it's a first for me, and I really think it's going to be a good experience."

Berman joins MTK Hungaria after completing her five-year collegiate career odyssey that began in Maryland. In 2013, she appeared in 20 games for the Terrapins, starting 17 and scoring three goals and five assists. But an injury derailed her sophomore season in 2014 after five games and three starts.

Granted a redshirt, Berman decided to return home to the Bay State in 2015 and transferred to Boston College. She made an immediate impact, scoring three goals, including one in a 2-0 win over ACC newcomer Louisville, who joined the league that season after Maryland departed for the Big Ten. Her performance helped the Eagles earn an NCAA Tournament berth, where they lost in the First Round to Princeton.

She continued to improve in 2016 when she started all 19 games played. Leading the team with eight assists, the now-junior athlete became known for clutch goal scoring touch. Her goal against Arizona State early in the year earned the Eagles a double-overtime draw with the Sun Devils, and she scored and assisted on game-winning strikes against Harvard and Syracuse, respectively.

The steady improvement capped this year with the captainship of the Eagles. Joined at the helm with Allyson Swaby, Berman helped a young BC roster finish over .500 with 10 wins, scoring the overtime penalty winner against James Madison. Her seven goals were a career high and capped her career with 52 points.

"We had a lot of younger players on the roster (this year)," Berman said. "And my class helped them feel welcome. It started a better culture to welcome younger players when they're playing so they can play at their best level. That makes a team closer, and that pays off in the long run."

It's an attitude she is looking forward to continuing when she arrives in Hungary. Berman is the only foreign-born player on a roster that produced more players for the Hungarian national team than any other club. The highly-competitive team has seen its share of the most highly-regarded athletes in the nation, meaning this is an opportunity to live out a childhood dream of playing for European championship glory.

"I didn't originally know much about the domestic league that they're in," Berman said. "But then I found out that Budapest consistently wins their domestic league. That means I'll have a chance to play in the Champions League, which is set up just like the men's side, and I really wanted to play in Europe in the Champions League. I was really happy about that."

Playing in Europe is the top of the soccer mountain, and the UEFA Champions League is a place where the best of the best shine under the biggest pressure. MTK Hungaria's been to that mountain more than once, having won several domestic league championships in the past decade. This year's Champions League saw the team serve as mini-tournament hosts in the Qualifying Round with a group including Kosovo's Hajvalia, Kazakhstan's BIIK-Kazygurt and Portugal's Sporting CP.

"I've been following the club on social media the last couple of weeks, and they've played through Vienna and into Germany," Berman said. "It's going to be really amazing to play against different teams from different countries. I'm going to experience some different cultures against teams that speak different languages. It's really just going to be an awesome experience."

But Berman understands that she isn't just a token player. American who go to Europe tend to bring their native-born grit and determination into a technical side, then infuse their style of play with the European technique.

"Europe and America play two different types of games," she said. "There's a lot of technical and tactical sides to the game in Europe. Obviously, I've grown up in America and I love the soccer here for sure, but they are born into a soccer world (in Europe). It becomes a different style because of that, and that's something I'm very excited to experience.

"I think ACC teams play more technical than other leagues, which will help translate well in Europe," she further explained. "When I came from Maryland, I had friends who went from the ACC to overseas, and it translates well depending on the type of player you are."

As she departs, Berman will say goodbye, at least temporarily, to the Massachusetts soccer world that raised her and helped her flourish. She was a four-year starter in high school at Canton High School and arguably one of the Bay State's best products. Even though she committed and started her career at Maryland, she eventually returned home to Boston to play the bulk of her college soccer. Now she heads a long way from home, ready to attack the soccer world in Budapest with the MTK Hungaria family.

"It's exciting to leave home," Berman said. "My friends and people who have followed my career have reached out to figure out the schedule, who we're playing and how to follow (the club). With social media and all the different technologies, I'll be able to share the experiences with them in ways that I probably wouldn't have been able to if it were 10 years ago."

Boston College Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Lauren Berman

Allyson Swaby

Related Videos