Nichols College Athletics

Natalie (Lavin) Soffen was a talented three-sport athlete at Nichols, lettering in basketball, softball and soccer. A four-year letterwinner in basketball and softball, she was a two-time All-Commonwealth Coast Conference selection at catcher and a two-time Worcester Area Colleges Basketball Association MVP at guard/forward. Despite never having played an organized soccer game before, Natalie backstopped the 2002 soccer team to the CCC title and the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in her only year with the team. She was named the College's Outstanding Female Freshman Athlete, the Nancy Rossini Memorial Award for Outstanding Female Sophomore Athlete recipient, the Outstanding Female Sophomore Athlete, and capped her outstanding career with the Major Charles M. Hopkins Award for Study, Sports and Spirit in her senior year.

A three-year captain in basketball, Natalie finished her career with 1,135 points, which was fourth on the all-time list at the time of her graduation. She also held the career records for free throws made and attempted (340-453), and held the career free-throw percentage record at 75.1 percent when she graduated. Her 14 free-throws made in a game against Rivier in her junior season stood as the single-game record at induction, and her 384 career assists placed her third all-time in the Nichols record books. She also ranked fifth all-time with 203 steals, third with 97 career blocks and finished with 15 career double-doubles.

On the softball diamond, Natalie was named the softball team's Co-Rookie of the Year in 2000, and though a broken jaw ended her sophomore season early, Natalie was named the team's Most Valuable Player and the CCC's Honorable Mention Catcher in 2001. She earned All-CCC Second Team honors as a junior and led the league with a .488 stolen base percentage (16 of 33 runners thrown out).
Natalie returned to her alma mater in 2005 as an assistant basketball coach and was tabbed head coach in 2007. She guided the Bison to two-straight ECAC Tournament appearances and to a share of the 2009 TCCC regular-season title with a program-best 25-5 record that included a record 21-game winning streak. In 2009, Natalie was named the TCCC Coach of the Year.