Torosian always put team first

Natalia Torosian will be remembered for many things in her Lenape career, most notably for all the wins and championships.

Yet what set Torosian apart was a selfless disposition that filtered to her teammates.

Torosian always realized what it took to win, but she had no idea about one aspect of the game - her own statistics.

She was a star with the ego of a junior varsity reserve. Scoring goals meant little to her unless it was in the context of a win.

One way to stump her was to ask her how many goals she had during a season. She never counted or cared. She just went out and won.

"The best thing is that she always made players better, and she never cared who scored as long as we won," Lenape coach Kevin Meder said. "She is not only a great player but a great team player."

Torosian had 11 goals and 17 assists, but that told so little of the story. She often was marked by one or multiple defenders and created so much room for her teammates to operate.

And Lenape sure did operate at a high level.

The Indians went 25-0, won their second straight state Group 4 title and were The Inquirer's No. 1-ranked South Jersey team for the second consecutive season. And for being the catalyst, Torosian has been named The Inquirer's South Jersey girls' soccer player of the year.

She was the type of player who never needed to take even one shot to have a dramatic impact on a game.

"She is the best player in South Jersey since Carli Lloyd," West Deptford coach John Cobb said.

Lloyd, the hero of this year's U.S. gold-medal-winning Olympic team, was a two-time Inquirer player of the year from Delran.

Coaches throughout South Jersey enjoyed watching Torosian play, especially those who didn't have to try to defend her.

"She wasn't about herself and always put her team first," Deptford coach Patrick Manahan said. "She brought out the best in her teammates, and any time you see somebody playing at such a high level, it's something special."

A highly recruited player, Torosian made an oral commitment to the University of Florida during her junior year.

Some players, with scholarship in hand, might pace themselves through a senior season, but it was actually the opposite for Torosian. She respected the game so much that she treated every match as if it were a championship. One gets the impression that she would display the same attitude in a pickup game.

"We would do anything not to lose and wanted it so bad and wanted to make a name for ourselves," Torosian said. "And I'm glad we accomplished our goals."

Torosian never had to score to make a major impact and was comfortable enough with her game that she didn't need statistics as a source of validation.

"To me, it doesn't make a difference how many goals you score. I would rather have two state championship rings on my finger than to say I had 20 goals," she said. "Who cares about goals? All that matters is that the team wins."