Just because Lucy Daniels has great feet doesn’t mean she loves to dance.
But dance is actually what put her on track to become a great soccer player.
When she was a kid, Daniels joined dance. She didn’t get off on the right foot and almost immediately wanted to change to soccer.
“I’ve always loved soccer, everything about it, even the stress, because when I have that, I push through,” said Daniels, a Port Richmond native who plays soccer and flag football for Franklin Towne Charter High School. “I truly love it. My mom went to Temple and played soccer, she was a goalie. I didn’t like dance when I was younger, so she put me in soccer. She grew up around here, went to Frankford and then moved to Texas to finish high school. She came back and went to Temple because she loved the area. She loved the city and all her family lived here.
“When I started playing soccer, I was a goalie like her. Then when I went to my second team, we had a goalie, so I played defender. I liked goalie, but I think I’m better playing out. I’ll pretty much play anywhere.”
Now in her fourth year as a member of the Warriors varsity squad, Daniels can still do whatever the team needs her to do, and that’s exactly what she wants to do.
Her goal isn’t to set any crazy individual record, she just wants to keep winning.
And since she got to Franklin Towne, the team has done little else.
As a freshman, she helped the Warriors reach the Public League semifinals. A season later, the team made the championship but couldn’t bring it home. In her junior campaign, Daniels helped the Warriors bring home the Public League championship.
Franklin Towne has taken another step each year, and Daniels wants that trend to continue for her final season. It could be tough, the Warriors graduated seven seniors who did a lot to help the team a season ago, but Daniels believes the team has enough talent and people willing to work to make 2026 a success.
“Sophomore year we went to the chip and lost and last year we went to the chip and won, and it was a really big accomplishment,” said Daniels, who plays outside back and in the midfield for the Warriors. “It was so great, everyone was so excited, we all ran to each other at the end of the game. We beat Masterman. I played well, I mainly played defense and I got pushed up and scored one of the goals. It was probably the biggest of my career because I usually get assists. It felt really good.
“This year, we only have two seniors so we both have to take that role seriously. I learned that from my mom, probably. She played soccer and was a goalie, so that made her a leader naturally. She’s also a teacher, she’s used to helping people do better every day. That’s what she does. She teaches at Moore.
“We did lose a lot of seniors, so we’ll have to take what they taught us and try to be good leaders. There’s only two of us, but we have a lot of good upperclassmen and younger players who can learn fast. I think we have what we need.”
They have what they need, but they still need to work.
Daniels knows tough teams like Central, Masterman and the rest of the Public League will be aiming to take out the defending Public League champs, so Franklin Towne will have a target on them.
They’re ready.
“I think we can win the chip again,” Daniels said. “I know we can win this year. I feel like we have to push ourselves harder and play the game. Relax, don’t worry about anything but ourselves. Make sure we put in the work. It won’t be easy, it’s really hard to do it, but we have what it takes to do it.”
While soccer is her biggest love, she does have goals beyond the pitch.
She’s a running back and defensive back on the Franklin Towne flag football team, and she’s a great student in the classroom. Next year, she’s going to continue her soccer career in college.
“When I go to college, I want to major in criminal justice and minor in forensics and psychology,” Daniels said. “I don’t know ever since I was younger I love detective work, forensics, I love the mystery behind it all. It sounds funny, but I just love it. I believe that anything I do, I’m going to do it well. I just have to do it to the best of my ability. I have a lot of confidence and now if I work hard, I can do it.”
That’s the confidence she gets from her family, whom she credits with being huge supporters in her life.
When she succeeds, she tips her cap to the ones who help her.
“Throughout my life my parents, they’ve pushed me to do what I want to do,” Daniels said. “And I’d say my coaches, my coaches throughout my life for club soccer they always let me try things new, and my high school coaches, they saw me for who I was. Nerding out, studying, but they saw me tackling a ball and running through players. I’d say my parents, teachers, family members, they always pushed me to be the best that I can be.” ••
