Sydney Lowe lives up to the family name, leaves lasting legacy at Black Hills

Sydney Lowe is doing her best to keep the family reputation going.

The Black Hills High School star is headed to Central Washington University next year to play soccer, just like her sister Whitney. Whitney Lowe is a three-time all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference forward who graduates this spring.

Sydney now shares another distinction with her sister — she is The Olympian’s All-Area girls soccer player of the year after leading Black Hills’ potent offense with 28 goals this season. Whitney earned the honor back in 2013.

Family is important to Lowe. She cherishes playing with teammates Bella Brown – who she’s known since kindergarten and will also play at Central next year– and her cousin, Megan Lowe.

“Soccer is about winning. But if you don’t feel like a family, you haven’t accomplished anything,” Sydney Lowe said.

Lowe has relied on sister Whitney as her personal soccer mentor. They’ve called and video chatted often after their high school and college games. Whitney helped her through the recruiting process.

“Sydney is right where she needs to be to move on to the next level,” Black Hills coach James Corbin said. “It’s been a pleasure and an honor to coach her and support her progress.”

Corbin appreciates the way Lowe has taken responsibility for the younger members of the Wolves’ family.

“Her work ethic is contagious,” he said. “She’s absolutely been there for the upcoming kids. She wanted to leave a legacy and set the stage for future seasons.”

Corbin noticed a change in Lowe’s personality during her season year.

“Sydney broke out of her shell this year. She’d been a shy young lady,” he said. “She developed the confidence to encourage her teammates and help them develop.”

Lowe’s speed, bright blonde hair and compact stature made her easy to pick out on the field, as she fueled a Black Hills attack that often went on sudden scoring binges, demoralizing opponents, on the way to a perfect 10-0 mark in the Class 2A Evergreen Conference. The Wolves finished 15-4 overall.

“She has the desire and ability to carry the ball through tight spaces, take players on and finish,” said Corbin, who guided the Wolves to a 57-22-2 record and two state-tournament appearances during Lowe’s career.

Opposing coaches recognized the challenge of slowing down a player Corbin says can only be stopped by marking her with multiple defenders.

“Sydney attacks and creates at full speed,” Tumwater coach Brett Bartlett said. “Defenses always need to keep a (player) on her, which can create overloads, poor rotations and open spaces for her teammates.”

Lowe, a two-time Olympian All-Area selection, points to her growing knowledge of the sport for much of her success.

“My soccer IQ has been raised a lot during high school,” she said. “As a freshman, I knew soccer, but I didn’t know soccer. I’m much more aware on the field now.”

Bartlett noticed.

“She’s very good at recognizing situations and taking advantage of them as both a scorer and a playmaker,” he said.

Lowe, the back-to-back 2A EvCo offensive player of the year, doesn’t hesitate when asked to name her favorite memory as a Black Hills player.

“My sophomore year, we got to the second round of the state tournament,” she said. “No women’s soccer team from our school had ever done that.”

The 2015 Wolves, like this year’s team, were undefeated 2A EvCo champions, posted a 3-1 record in the Southwest District 4 tournament to reach a first-round state game with Highline.

They won, 6-4, behind five goals from then-senior, and former Olympian All-Area player of the year, Joslin Lindsay.

“We were so full of emotions,” Lowe remembers. “It felt like getting a brand new car. We were so happy for the seniors.”

This story was originally published November 15, 2017 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Sydney Lowe lives up to the family name, leaves lasting legacy at Black Hills."