MEDFIELD — “Don’t let 13 have the ball,” someone in the crowd mutters, with a mix of sarcasm and resignation, as the determined winger continues terrorizing defenders, her pace unrelenting, her movement proving she’s always one or more steps ahead.
The player wearing No. 13 is Sidney Heavey and containing her is clearly easier said than done. She’s got facets to her game that the average teen just doesn’t – tactical awareness, technique, poise. When she’s not taking players on and getting in behind, she’s pinging the ball around the midfield and into the penalty area with confidence and precision. She strikes the ball cleanly and with power.
Her single braid, adorned with a pink and white ribbon, bobs away as she runs onto a through pass and fires past a sullen goalkeeper. On this crisp autumn day, that strike seals a hat-trick, though Heavey is unsure how many goals she’s scored this season, which Medfield hopes to cap as back-to-back state champions.
For the record, she’s scored 30.
“I don’t keep track of that stuff, as long as we keep winning,” said Heavey, 18, a senior, who also has 16 assists. “The chemistry is there and we all have the same goal and mindset: It’s to win another state championship.”
While the population of this quaint Norfolk County town is just over 13,000, its residents over the years have included a high concentration of notable athletes. Among them are former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe and team Hall of Famer John Hannah, Super Bowl champion Ted Johnson, World Series champion Curt Schilling and heavyweight boxers Tom and Peter McNeeley.
Another prominent name is Heavey’s mom, Kristine Lilly.
Heavey was in a stroller when mom hung up her cleats in 2011 with the Boston Breakers, completing a 23-year career that included winning two World Cups and two Olympic gold medals. Lilly’s 354 international appearances are also the most in the history of both men’s and women’s soccer.
Now 55, Lilly runs soccer camps with former teammates Mia Hamm and Tisha Venturini-Hoch, though most of her involvement in the game revolves around Heavey and her other daughter Jordan, 15, a freshman on Medfield’s team.
Donned in a black ballcap and Medfield Warriors athleticwear, Lilly sits in the last row of metal bleachers. She’s cheering for her daughters as parents from the opposing team, within earshot, share the fun fact that the Heaveys’ mom is a U.S. soccer legend.
“The best part about it is Kristine is a mom who’s just watching her kids play,” said Medfield head coach Melinda Lohan, who was at Giants Stadium when Lilly scored in the U.S.’s opening win over Denmark at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup. “It’s extra special for me because Kristine was my role model growing up. I was nervous before our first meeting when Sidney was a freshman, because I idolized Kristine, and she has so much more soccer experience than I do.
“What I thought could be stressful has been nothing but wonderful. We are lucky to have someone of Kristine’s caliber on our sideline, and you’d never know Sidney was related to a famous soccer player by how she acts. She is team-first, 100 percent.”
Medfield’s Sidney Heavey, top, celebrates after scoring her third goal of the match against Concord-Carlisle goalkeeper Sally Wu, bottom, during the second half of a soccer game Oct. 10, 2026, in Medfield. (Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)
How Sidney runs
After kickoff, it takes less than eight seconds for Heavey to sprint to her opponent’s penalty area, take her first touch and earn the first corner kick.
The defense is in for a long game, as Heavey is comfortable on both the left and right sides, and likes to drift inside to play as an extra striker.
“I would describe myself as determined, hardworking, hustling for every ball and gritty,” Heavey said. “But I would also say I help out and do whatever I need for my team. I have people’s backs.”
During the game, Heavey isn’t just providing an attacking threat. She’s also relieving pressure by giving her teammates an outlet when they’re double-marked or in tight space. Heavey recognizes the smart pass and, if there isn’t one available, fearlessly runs at opponents to create space elsewhere.
Naturally, people who know Heavey’s family history point out certain similarities between her and her mom.
“Sometimes people show me highlights and say they can see the resemblance,” said a smiling Heavey. “They’re like, ‘I knew it was you by the way you were running.’”
Heavey wears No. 13 like Lilly, too. No superstitions.
“I’ve picked it since I was in third grade,” Heavey said. “No. 13 is lucky in the household. It’s never failed.”
Medfield’s Sidney Heavey, right, traps a pass in front of Concord–Carlisle’s Teagan Graham, left, during the first half of a soccer match Oct. 10, 2026, in Medfield. (Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)
‘She can be anything she wants’
While soccer runs in the family, Heavey’s path is markedly different than that of her mom, who first appeared in a U.S. jersey when she was roughly two years younger than Sidney is today.
For Lilly and her husband, David, a firefighter, sports have always held a cherished place, even beyond her long soccer career.
“Sports were such a big thing in my family,” Lilly said. “My first love was baseball, and my husband’s a golfer and hockey guy. It was so great for me to be able to go back and play after having (Heavey). Bringing her to games when she was 2 was fun. But both kids were around different sports. We were like, ‘Whatever they end up as will be wonderful.’
“When I was her age on the national team, we weren’t as busy, and it wasn’t a commitment like it is now for these younger players,” added Lilly, who played for Wilton High School in Connecticut while earning senior caps with the U.S. “I loved playing for the national team a lot, then coming back to play for my high school. You can’t replace these memories – you’re with friends you’ve known since you were little.”
In addition to soccer, Heavey has tried gymnastics and dance, and also plays on Medfield’s basketball team. Her friend group partly stems from her involvement in sports, though it also includes the children of other notable former U.S. women’s national team
stars, including Julie Foudy’s daughter Izzy Sawyers (Cal Poly), and Venturini-Hoch’s daughter, Sadie (Texas).
Heavey will join them in Division 1 next year, as she’s committed to the University of Central Florida, which is coached by Lilly’s former teammate Tiffany Roberts.
The moms in this era are known as the 99ers – a nod to the FIFA Women’s World Cup the Americans won that summer – and incidentally the title of a forthcoming Netflix movie about their triumph (actress Lizzy Greene was cast as Lilly).
The U.S. women have won four titles, most recently winning in 2015 and 2019. When asked about her professional soccer ambitions, Heavey doesn’t get specific.
“The goal would be to play as long as I possibly can, at the highest level I possibly can,” Heavey said. “That’s anyone’s dream when they grow up, to play with the best. I would love to do that.”
Others offer a more vociferous endorsement of Heavey’s potential.
“With her work-ethic and natural ability, she can be anything she wants,” Lohan said. “Nothing gets in her way. She doesn’t talk about goals, because her goals are what’s in front of her, and right now what’s in front of her is (Medfield). She’s very mature. But she is also very skilled, and very dangerous, and everything she does is through hard work and remaining humble.”
Kristine Lilly of the United States reacts after scoring the third goal for the United States against England during their quarterfinal match at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer tournament in Tianjin, China, Saturday Sept. 22, 2007. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)
‘She changed the game for everyone, and then she’s mom’
Is it hard to be a soccer mom after being a soccer player?
“I would go back right now to play if I could,” Lilly said. “Being a soccer player was so fun. Being a soccer mom is very stressful, because I’m so nervous. I have no control. You want your children to be successful, and you want them to be happy, and winning makes them happy. But it’s fun to see them do the work and get into these positions. And I love gamedays. It’s one of my favorite days in the house.”
Lilly likes to train with her daughters, too. Having a world-class player to learn from would certainly be a plus for any aspiring soccer star. Lilly says she emphasizes technique, while also weaving lessons from her career into what she teaches her daughters.
“It’s a balance, being a mom and also being a coach to them as well,” Lilly said. “Showing them that you can play at the highest level, do these great things, but then make sure you’re also a good human. That’s what I learned from my teammates – they were just good human beings that were awesome – we’d compete and tear it up, and then they were quality people.”
When most people think about soccer in the summer of 1999, they recall how the U.S. women took the nation by storm and won the World Cup.
Neither of Lilly’s daughters were born yet. But those old enough saw how the legacy of that moment has since played out – how Lilly and her teammates weren’t just champions of a tournament, but champions of equality and opportunity.
Both daughters take none of that for granted, and they’re proud of their mom.
“When I was younger, I wasn’t aware of everything she did, she was just like any other mom,” Jordan said. “But when I saw how people reacted around her, how people care about her as much as I do, I realized how much she actually did.”
“It’s crazy to think about,” Sidney added. “She’s changed the game of women’s soccer for everyone. She’s the reason I have all these opportunities, and all these girls in sports can do all these amazing things. And then she’s also mom.
“I’m forever grateful. Everything I know is because of her. She taught me that you can do anything you set your mind to with hard work and always giving 110 percent, even if it’s cheering on your teammates from the bench or playing a different position. At the end of the day, you’re doing it for your team.”