Soccer star Sutton Factor has been selected as Westfield’s Union County Conference Girls Athlete of the Week.
Factor, the epitome of what you look for in a leader on and off the field, has been one of the state’s best goalkeepers this season.
She has 13 shutouts this fall, including eight straight, and has allowed just two goals for Westfield, the No. 1 ranked team in the state. Westfield (15-0-2) has won 42 straight games, and captured its third straight Union County last month when the Blue Devils defeated Scotch Plains-Fanwood on penalty kicks.
Many captains on high school sports teams are performance leaders. They are the leaders that are the most athletic; fastest, strongest, and most skilled. Factor is a performance leader, and has all the qualities that it takes to be a high level goalkeeper, which she has shown on the field during the last two seasons.
But what’s unique to Factor is her ability to be a strong team leader too. She’s able to connect with everyone on the team. She’s a motivator for one teammate, a compassionate shoulder for another, and is able to intellectually stimulate and challenge others. It’s difficult to always put your teammates first, especially with all of the stresses of school and the season, but somehow Factor always finds a way. Factor is the teammate and leader that every team needs and wants at any level. When you do things the right way, like Factor has, success has no choice but to follow. Because of her leadership, her dedication to a bigger cause other than herself, and because of her ability to handle hard better then most of her peers, she’s been part of two programs, soccer and basketball, that have reached the pinnacle of success in high school sports.
