Lauren Hinton becomes a model of consistency for Brown

Before arriving at Brown, Hinton's profile grew by leaps and bounds at Loomis Chaffee. (Credit: Louis Walker III)

Consistency sometimes is in short supply for college soccer players, especially underclassmen with minimal game experience. So when a coach has a reliable second-year defender that plays like a senior, it’s like hitting the jackpot.

Those qualities make Lauren Hinton (Middletown, Conn.) so valuable to Brown University. The Bears recently won the Ivy League for the first time since 1994, thanks in part to their sophomore anchor who rarely comes off the field.

Underclassmen tend to be more inconsistent on the field because they’re still developing at the collegiate level. Hinton, a former star at Loomis Chaffee and Oakwood SC, quickly emerged as an exception.