Little Falls Mountie Olivia Lindsay to continue playing soccer at Marist College

LITTLE FALLS — A standout through four varsity seasons with the Little Falls Mounties, Olivia Lindsay will continue her soccer-playing career along with her education next fall at Marist College after signing her Letter of Intent to do so on national signing day Nov. 10.

Joined by her family, classmates and teammates, administrators and coaches, Lindsay committed to the Division I school in Poughkeepsie in a brief ceremony at the high school.

“In the end, Marist felt like the place I wanted to be,” Lindsay said. “The campus, coaching staff and players were all so welcoming. I could envision myself fitting right in which made the decision very easy.”

Lindsay scored 12 goals and assisted on 14 others during a 10-6-1 season as a high school senior and had a three-goal match against Cooperstown late in the regular season. Meanwhile, the Marist women posted a 5-7-3 record in 2021 and went 4-4-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, finishing seventh in the 11-team league’s standings.

“The recruiting process during the pandemic was very stressful,” said Lindsay, who signed her letter while seated between her parents, Keith and Maria Lindsay. “The pandemic hit at a time that every 2022 player looking to get recruited did not want.”

More: Signing Day 2021: See where Utica-area athletes are planning to go to college

COVID-19 disrupted offseason play with club teams, as well as high school scheduling; there were no sectional or state playoffs in New York in 2020.

“The recruiting process quickly turned upside down, for not just me, but many players,” Lindsay said, “Staying in contact with coaches and sending film was crucial. Coaches needed to see any type of film they could get as they could not see anyone play in person. Once we were able to play again, after every event, I would come home and start watching film and editing it to send to coaches since they still weren’t able to attend.

“It would be a part of my daily routine.”

Meeting with coaches was replaced by Zoom calls. Informal campus visits replaced official recruiting visits.

During Lindsay’s varsity career, Little Falls won two Section III championships in Class C and made the move up to Class B competition. She was named the most valuable player for the sectional tournament as a freshman when the Mounties advanced to the state championship match against Section II Stillwater. A four-time Center State Conference all-star, she was selected for all-state honors in Class B by the New York State Sportswriters and Coaches Organization for Girls Sports in 2020 and 2021.

Lindsay follows former high school teammates Gabby Sylstra and Caileigh Barnett onto the college pitch after the 2021 graduates dealt with the same disruptions in their recruiting experiences. Sylstra has completed her freshman season with 12 goals and four assists as the leading scorer at Richard Bland College of William & Mary, a Division I junior college in Virginia, while Barnett played 13 matches and started five as a defender at Marymount University in Virginia.

More immediately, Lindsay has her senior season of basketball starting. The Mounties scrimmage for the first time Saturday against Canajoharie and welcome fans back into the gym for their Dec. 2 season opener against Herkimer.

Jon Rathbun is a sportswriter for the Times Telegram. Email Jon at sports@timestelegram.com.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Little Falls' Olivia Lindsay to play soccer at Marist College