Any time that a Division 1 athlete joins a Division 3 program, good things are most likely going to follow. That has been the case for one of the top soccer players in Silver Lake history.
Halifax native Paul Beatty, graduated from Silver Lake High in 2014 and spent two seasons as a member of the UMass Lowell soccer team. This season, however, he returned to the college soccer scene at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and has been a force on his team’s attack.
In 14 games for WPI this season, he has been his team’s top offensive player. The redshirt sophomore leads the team with 15 points scored and is tied for a team-high six goals with his former Silver Lake teammate, Kingston native Brendan Nemes, a senior on the team.
In September, Beatty’s excellence was recognized when he was named the NEWMAC’s Men’s Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week. He earned the honor after he scored both of his team’s goals in a 2-1 win over Babson College on Sept. 16.
Given the success he enjoyed in high school, Beatty’s emergence this season should come as no surprise. After all, he set a school record when he scored 37 goals for the Lakers in 2013, his senior year. That same year, he was named the Patriot League MVP.
After his highly-successful high school career, Beatty went to UMass Lowell, but he redshirted his freshman year in 2014. In his redshirt freshman year in 2015, however, he earned some playing time for the Riverhawks, making 14 appearances and accumulating two points (one goal and an assist). Following that season, he took a year off from the college soccer scene before coming back into it this season.
After the 2017 season, Beatty has two more years of eligibility remaining so if he stays at WPI, he will most likely continue to tear up the competition.