Ben Purcell’s tenure at Portsmouth High School has been met with many athletic accolades and fond memories. Coming in as a freshman, Purcell’s goal was to make varsity for soccer and possibly more sports. He also wanted to make his dad proud by making the varsity team as a freshman.
In his first fall at PHS, Purcell made the varsity soccer team where he was taken under the wing of senior captain Diego Trevino. Trevino “helped me bring my game to the next level,” Purcell said.
Soccer was only one of his sports, as he also made the varsity hockey team for the PHS Mules in the winter of his freshman year. He was the only freshman on the varsity hockey team that year and new head coach Joel Brown led them to the state championship appearance where they unfortunately lost to St. Thomas Aquinas. It was during his time with the Mules that he really started to understand more about becoming a good teammate and person.
Later in the spring, Purcell also made the varsity lacrosse team where he started several games and helped the team win a state championship. Winning the championship “was a dream come true,” and he is “hoping to win one this year,” according to Purcell. Once again, he was mentored by upperclassmen that really propelled his talents to the next level.
Purcell realized that he was extremely passionate about lacrosse and he wanted to pursue lacrosse to the next level more than any other sport he played.
Purcell’s sophomore year was “a very maturing year,” and he had a bigger role on every team he played for that year. He said he “felt an inner drive to perform at a very high level after a freshman season where [he] was a big team guy.” His main goal was to make a difference on the field and ice and become a formidable team leader.
Coming into his junior year, more was expected of Purcell on every aspect of his game and he has been rewarded with being named captain on his soccer team.
Currently, Purcell is on the varsity hockey team and playing more minutes and impacting the team better than ever. He looks forward to the lacrosse season as he feels he has a lot to prove.
Purcell accepted an offer from Binghamton University in New York to play lacrosse. He plans to take his talents to the Division I collegiate level when the time comes.
This is only the start of Purcell’s career and it has been met with tough obstacles, but he has put in the work and the people surrounding him have really given him the boost he needed.
“He is a great athlete, nice person, and if he likes something, he is going to give it his all,” said Mrs. Conway, PHS athletic director secretary.
“Ben has emerged into a great leader for all three teams and puts in hard work on the field, ice, classroom, and the halls of PHS,” said Tom Kozikowski, PHS Athletic Director.