Play defender, midfielder and forward in the national championship game, celebrate a national crown, take final exams early and begin camp with the national soccer program — senior Lauren Fowlkes did it all in the space of just one early-December week.
"That was crazy," Fowlkes said with a laugh. "[I was] just trying to celebrate but then buckle down and get through my last finals."
That week was simply another chance for the Irish co-captain to display her two trademark characteristics: competitiveness and versatility.
"[On the field,] I think her versatility was really key for her and the impact she had on the program," Irish coach Randy Waldrum said. "Off the field, it's just the competitiveness she has as a person. She's tough, she's physical, she's fearless — but she takes the same thing to the classroom too."
Fowlkes may have been at her most competitive that weekend in Cary, N.C. With one final shot at a national title remaining, Fowlkes refused to let Ohio State's Megan Fuller push her around. After Fuller tackled Fowlkes near the boundary, the senior let fly in one of the most memorable images of the 2010 College Cup.
"We got into a little scuffle and she just got in my face," Fowlkes said. "Obviously I wasn't very happy about it. It's just one of those things when you're caught in the moment and you have to stand up for yourself."
Waldrum called the incident indicative of Fowlkes' play — but what struck him most was Fowlkes' later run-in with Fuller.
"After that incident happened, there was a long-range shot … that hit the crossbar. Lauren's following it up, and you see her with the same girl, and Lauren pretty much leveled her on the follow up," he said. "She wasn't going to forget it. That kind of epitomizes Lauren."
Fowlkes' competitiveness translates off the field as well. Only the 13th athlete in Notre Dame history to earn both All-American and Academic All-American honors in two separate seasons, Fowlkes graduates with a 3.62 grade point average as a science-business major. Yet when asked to pick which honor meant more, Fowlkes had a difficult time.
"I don't know — I would say almost the academic one almost brings more weight," she said. "I've always been one of those types of people that whatever it is, I'm giving my 100 percent best effort. I think what makes me excel in the classroom and on the field is my competitive spirit."
Fowlkes' competitive drive led her to become one of the most versatile players in Irish history. Recruited as a defender out of the Kansas City suburbs, she could play nearly anywhere on the field.
"Lauren's just a very smart player — she's very versatile," junior forward Melissa Henderson said. "She's able to fill in wherever the team needed her, no questions being asked. I think that was really special about her."
Fowlkes spent her freshman year backstopping a College Cup run but moved around the pitch her sophomore year due to a conflict of commitments. The 2008 under-20 World Cup coincided with the NCAA tournament, and when Fowlkes joined the national team en route to a World Cup gold medal, a hole emerged in the lineup that Waldrum tried to fill up all year.
"When we knew she was going to miss the playoffs, we kind of moved her around," he said. "[Center back] is too critical of a position to have somebody leave in the middle of your season and try to get somebody get integrated back there."
While she moved around both her junior and senior years, Fowlkes' final position changes may have been her most important. After a stunning loss in the Big East quarterfinals, Fowlkes moved from defender to forward to spark the offense, but then played all three positions in the College Cup semifinal and final as the game dictated, leading her team to a long-awaited title.
"What's important is that that kind of stuff never bothered her," Waldrum said. "It's just a ‘put me wherever the team needs me' kind of attitude … For us at that level at that time, she played a role that we needed. It was a Band-Aid to try and get some solutions, and she did a great job."
That team-first attitude extends to Fowlkes' most treasured memories of her four years.
"Obviously nothing means more than winning a national championship this year," she said. "Any team accolade is always going to far, far outweigh any individual honor that I could ever receive just because of how amazing that whole experience was."
Fowlkes' journey from back line to front line (and back and forth a few times in between) mirrored her growth as a leader — a maturation process that resulted in her co-captaincy in her final year.
"Lauren had the vocal part that we really wanted. It was really a nice thing to watch her grow," Waldrum said. "When she came in as a freshman she had those leadership qualities and she understood the game, so she wasn't afraid to say things. As a freshman she wasn't ready to lead this team, but we could see the future leader in Lauren … By the senior year, she had really evolved and grown into that role."
Fowlkes' growth did not stop after the national championship, however. Shortly after camp ended with the under-23 national team in December, Fowlkes was drafted fifth overall by the Philadelphia Independence of Women's Professional Soccer.
Now finishing up her degree with one last class while playing back for the Independence, Fowlkes continues to be grateful for her opportunities.
"This is definitely a dream come true," she said. "To be drafted in the first round, to be a professional when the league is so small and when there's not a lot of that type of opportunity for people coming out of college, I feel really fortunate to be able to do this."
With graduation, however, comes some nostalgia.
"Notre Dame is a place full of such awesome, special people and it's not something that's common everywhere else you go. It's hard to leave," she said. "I couldn't have imagined anything better, not only with soccer and all those accolades and stuff, but I honestly feel like I got an education at the top institution in the country. That'll be one of the things that'll be in my life forever, and it's something I'm extremely thankful for. I couldn't have asked for a better college experience."
