Junior midfielder Lauren Sinacola pushes the ball toward the goal during the game against the Iowa on Sept. 28 at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field.
Smurfs are normally regarded as tiny blue creatures from a place called Smurf Village — a fictional land described in comics and cartoons since the 1980s.
But in the land of Green and White, the name “Smurf” refers to one very specific individual — 5-foot-3 women’s soccer junior midfielder Lauren Sinacola.
The only thing blue in her life might be a defender’s face — blue from exhaustion trying to keep up with Sinacola before she serves up a perfect ball to a streaking teammate for one of her 10 assists — one of the best totals in the nation.
“Smurf is one of the most skillful players ever to play in this program in the 23-year history,” head coach Tom Saxton said. “Whether it’s her technique on the ball, how unbelievably well she understands the game or her field vision and ability to see every little thing going on around her — she’s phenomenal.”
And the deeming of the nickname, Sinacola describes, isn’t all that extensive.
When she was 8 years old, the Rochester, Mich., native found herself competing with kids a couple years older than her. And with the age difference came quite a height difference.
The roster being filled with five different girls named Lauren didn’t help the cause either.
“At first, I was called ‘Pipsqueak,’” Sinacola said laughing. “But that was too hard to say when calling out to me on the field. So then, they settled on Smurf.
“The name has stuck ever since. The only thing is, a lot of people in the Michigan soccer community don’t know my real name.”
Nickname or real name aside, Sinacola has made an immediate impact in the Big Ten since making her way to MSU, racking up 17 assists, eight goals and 33 points in 48 career games.
“She is the craftiest player I have ever played with in my life,” senior defender Kelley Amormino said. “She’s exciting to watch and has grown a lot over the past three years.”
But one of the most unique traits about Smurf is her ability to balance her comedic side and her intense game face — never being too stiff or too funny when the situation doesn’t call for it. Saxton said she provides the perfect blend of both.
And when someone can put it all together into a complete package, as Sinacola has, recruits are going to be knocking on your front door wanting to talk to you.
Since Sinacola was a sophomore in high school, Saxton said he had the versatile high schooler on his “wish list.”
“She’s not tall and statured and we knew that,” Saxton said. “But we also knew she was an absolute warrior, who’s taken a lot of beatings throughout her career to prove how tough she is.
“She’s always been there for us every time we need her.”
Sinacola said she takes pride in proving wrong the stereotypes of being a short soccer player. Although she can’t win as many 50-50 header balls, she fights off defenders by dekeing around them and being tactical — sticking to her Smurf style.
And with senior midfielder Kristi Timar going down with a torn ACL on Sept. 26, Sinacola knew she’d have to step up, yet take advice from Timar.
“She’s the quarterback of this team (now),” Timar said. “She’s able to run the midfield and give everyone opportunities to make them better. She’s been here for three years and she’s a veteran.”
With Timar on the sideline and Sinacola on the field, the two will attack the midfield in a different way than they have in the past, but the same goal is at the end of the tunnel — a Big Ten championship, even after a pair of tough losses last weekend.
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“This is our year to do something and we have to pick up the intensity,” Sinacola said. “We realize last week we could have gone harder. Those two losses helped us take a step back and look at the Big Ten more in-depth.
“We just have to look at each other and find that intensity — more importantly, we need to have fun. When we have fun, we play so much better. It’s time to do that.”
