Bentley University

It takes a very special individual to enter college and change the course of an athletic program with their presence, but that is just what Kelly (Lach) Kelly was able to do. When Kelly entered Bentley as a freshman in 1994, the women's soccer program was only in its fourth year of existence and had won a total of four games in the previous three seasons. Her freshman year, backstopped by their new goaltender, the Falcons eclipsed that total in one season with five wins.
 
"I remember watching Kelly in an All-Star game in high school and when I found out that she decided to come to Bentley, I was very excited," said former women's head coach Julio Avila. "She was one of the first real soccer players here and was the first true goalkeeper that we ever had; I didn't have to teach her the different tricks (of the position) when she came in."
 
In her freshman season, Kelly posted a goals against average of 2.25, the first goalkeeper in school history to post a goals against average under three. The following season Kelly started all 19 games and led the Falcons to a record of 8-8-3, the first five-hundred season in school history. She held opponents to just 1.54 goals a game and recorded two shutouts en route to earning an All-Northeast-10 honorable mention selection.
 
It was her ability to be a leader off the field as well as on the field that accounted for the large influence that she had on the program. "Kelly helped a lot with recruiting, I know that she convinced a lot of local kids to come and play for us," said Avila. "She hosted the recruits on overnights and she did an excellent job of motivating the younger players on our team."
 
Kelly had her best season during her junior year, leading Bentley to its first-ever winning season with a 13-5-2 mark. She recorded five shutouts and posted a 0.98 goals against average, both school records that have since been broken. She was selected to the All-NE-10 second team and became just the third player in school history to become an All-New England selection.
 
"Kelly is probably the best goalkeeper that Bentley has ever had," said former Falcon head coach Lauren Lukis prior to Kelly's 2005 induction. Lukis, who played with Kelly for two seasons, continued "she was fearless in net and was just a great team member. She was very devoted to the team, extremely charismatic and a very good leader. She was a big influence on my decision to attend Bentley."
 
In 1997, her senior season, the Salem, Massachusetts native led the Falcons to their second straight winning record and matched her career high with five shutouts. In her four years at the school, Bentley's women's soccer program had moved from a struggling program in its infancy to a program that was expected to contend for the NE-10 title.
 
The year following Kelly's graduation, the Falcons captured their first NE-10 playoff championship and although Kelly herself was not in goal during the game, her influence was undeniable. From the players that she helped recruit to the dramatic steps that the program had taken in just five years after she arrived in Waltham.