Westport Patch's Outstanding Fall Athlete: Brendan Lesch

Brendan Lesch injured his ankle in the second game of the FCIAC soccer playoffs this past fall, but the Staples High co-captain refused to be sidelined.

Lesch not only kept playing, he "demanded to play," recalled coach Dan Woog. "A lot of players with college looming"— he was recruited at Notre Dame—"would have taken the easy way out and sort of checked out, and the thought never crossed his mind."

Instead, Lesch was moved from his midfield position up to forward, where there was less chance of player contact.

"If we didn't win that day, we weren't going to keep moving on," Lesch said. "I wanted to be out there and just do whatever I could ... and then I just kind of kept that attitude throughout the tournament and the state tournament."

The Wreckers got all the way to the CIAC Class LL state finals this year before .

Lesch's talent for the game—he was one of 12 players in the team's 52-year history to make varsity as a freshman, Woog said—and his need to be playing soccer all the time has led him to be named All-FCIAC, All-State and All-New England two years in a row. He was also one of three male soccer players in the state to be named  this year--the first by a Staples boy since 1998.

"I worry often that players will burn out," Woog said. "I never worry about that with Brendan. He would play 24-7, 365 if he could and is disappointed that he can't."

Lesch agreed. He is currently taking some time off from the sport, resting to let that tournament ankle injury heal. "It's just so boring," he said. "It's driving me nuts taking two weeks off." 

Download the movie