Loranna Austin always has South Carolina on her mind
Coastal Carolina junior Loranna Austin is a native of Blythewood, South Carolina. At Blythewood HS, she was an all-state performer twice and was all-region all four years. When it came time to decide where to play during her NCAA career, attending Coastal Carolina in her home state was an important factor. Austin told BGN, “I always knew I wanted to stay in South Carolina to play college soccer. I liked the idea of being close to home so my family could watch me play.”
Discussing growing up in the Palmetto State, she said, “The best part about growing up in South Carolina is that you have so much to do from going to the beach, hiking in the mountains, and visiting beautiful cities like Charleston.”
What is the biggest misconception about people from South Carolina? Loranna answered, “I think one big misconception about the state is that everyone has a southern accent.”
Proudly representing her home state, Austin has enjoyed a successful junior season thus far, scoring four goals and adding one assist while appearing in all ten matches (nine starts). She also was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week back in September. “I think the training I completed during quarantine and the summer has really helped me perform well so far this season,” Austin said. “I really focused on improving my technical skills and ball striking because I knew coming into this season I wanted to contribute more to my team’s goal-scoring and assisting.”
Austin Named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week https://t.co/1XzgW06zO6
— CCU Women's Soccer (@CoastalWSoccer) September 30, 2020
“I also feel like my team has really helped me play well because they are very hard-working which pushes me to be better. As the season continues, I am focused on improving my ball striking and field awareness.”
She’s also successful off the pitch at Coastal Carolina. Across her three years, she’s made multiple Dean’s List and President’s List appearances. “The balance of academics and athletics is very important to me,” Austin said. “I strive to do my best in both aspects of my life.”
“I am a biology major with a Spanish minor. I chose to study biology because I want to work in the healthcare field as a nurse practitioner after I graduate.”
But, while she’s still in school, Austin will be trying to help the Chanticleers find as much success on the pitch as possible. Coastal Carolina ended the regular season with a 1-0 win over Georgia Southern on 10/28. Now, they enter the Sun Belt Conference Championship and Loranna is confident in her squad if they can play their style.
“In my opinion, I feel it is very important for my team to remain hard-working and gritty while also maintaining our possession style of play,” she said. “If we implement these aspects in our games then we have a solid chance to beat any team we play in conference.”
“When it comes to the Sun Belt tournament, it is all about consistency. If we consistently play the way I know we can then we should find success in the tournament.”
Austin and Coastal Carolina’s first matchup in the Sun Belt Conference Championship will be on Wednesday when they face Louisiana-Lafayette in the quarterfinals. Kickoff is set for 12 PM Eastern and will be live on ESPN+.
