Thibeault shines in standout senior season with NCAA-leading streak

By Kylie Jones, Sports Editor and Ali Suleman, Contributing Writer

Sophie Thibeault’s role on the Towson Women’s Soccer team has shifted dramatically from her freshman season, when she appeared in just five games for the Tigers. Now, the senior forward is making history at Towson, recording a goal or assist in the past eight matches to lead the NCAA in active streaks. 

Her consistency has helped Towson secure its share of the CAA North Division Title.

“I want to do what’s best for my team,” Thibeault said. “If it just helps the overall success of my team, I feel like that’s, like, the most important.” 

Thibeault’s path to becoming a Tiger began close to home. 

As a graduate of Archbishop Spalding High School, Thibeault initially considered Towson because of its proximity. After a call with head coach Katherine Vettori and a team visit, her attraction grew beyond the short distance from home. 

“I came out for a visit, and the team was, like, very welcoming,” Thibeault said. “They were very fun to be around, and then, obviously, at that point, they were, like, winning a lot of games and stuff, so I wanted to kind of come to that, like, winning culture.” 

During her freshman year, Thibeault appeared in just five games off the bench for the Tigers, with a season-high 21-minutes against University of Maryland, Baltimore County. This season, she has played every minute of the past 13 matches, a consecutive 1,182-minutes for the Tigers. 

Thibeault recalled her freshman year, saying that she felt intimidated as an underclassmen, and that she hopes to change that experience for her younger teammates. 

“If they have an issue or concern or if they have something fun to share, anything that they’re like… (I want them to) feel that relationship with me where it’s like, an open relationship and they can come to me for those things,” Thibeault said. 

She added that the team is like a “sisterhood,” which is especially helpful when they are tough on each other during practice.

“When we walk off the field, we’re all best friends,” Thibeault said. 

Along with her role as a teammate and leader, Thibeault has also picked up some accolades for herself that have gained national recognition. 

Her most recent accomplishment is an eight-game goal contribution streak, which she extended with an assist in the Tigers’ most recent match against Monmouth. She is the only Division I player in the nation with an active streak of that length, making her the NCAA leader in the category.

This streak has been ongoing since Sept. 20 after earning an assist during a loss against Hofstra. Since that loss, the Tigers have been 6-1, dropping a lone game to the University of North Carolina Wilmington. 

“We’re gonna play teams that are like UNCW and we kind of have to be flexible,” Thibeault said.  “We need to be like, willing to change, like, being able to change our playing style to try to figure out, like, how we can get out of these matches and get the results we need.”

Thibeault also earned CAA Player of the Week honors earlier in the season after leading the conference in shots, goals and points. 

This isn’t Thibeault’s only season as a standout player, however. The forward had an explosive sophomore year, playing in all 19 games and leading the Tigers with 16 points. 

During her junior year, Thibeault earned Second Team All-CAA honors after scoring 18 points during the season, including two game winning goals. 

Despite her accolades, Thibeault remains focused on the team’s success. 

“Even if next game, for some reason, we still win three nothing, and I don’t get an assist or goal, I’ll still be happy,” Thibeault said. “I just really want to win the season.”

When asked about her own personal goals, it all came back to her team. 

“I feel like I just want to be the best leader and teammate I can be,” Thibeault said. “As well as a team, honestly just winning as many games as we can.”

Depending on the results of Towson’s final game and Hofstra’s matchup against Stony Brook, the Tigers will secure either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the postseason.

“I feel like this team and this culture, like, we’ve worked so hard to not get the results we want,” Thibeault said. 

Towson’s final regular season matchup will be played against Drexel at Tiger Field on Sunday at 1 p.m.