Drive and determination helped propel Jonathan Curran into the athletic halls of fame at Tyngsborough High and UMass Lowell. He now carries those same principles into his position with the fire department in Nashua.
“Being in shape physically and alert mentally are important to what I do, especially as a diver with the department,’’ said Curran, the first men’s soccer player at UMass Lowell to be honored as a two-time Division 2 All-American.
“I enjoy helping people. When things are at their worst,’’ he said, “I reassure them that everything will be OK.’’
At Tyngsborough High, Curran graduated as the soccer team’s all-time leading scorer, was team MVP on two league championship basketball teams, and a Merrimack Valley Conference lacrosse All-Star.
“My favorite memory,’’ he said, “was leading our team, as a captain, to the state lacrosse tournament. That was quite an achievement for a first-year varsity program in a small town.’’
At UMass Lowell, the 2005 grad was a superb defender.
“Jonathan was a great leader and an even better teammate,’’ said current UMass Lowell soccer coach Christian Figueroa, Curran’s fellow cocaptain with the River Hawks. “He would run through a wall for you.’’
With the 6-foot-2-inch, 180-pound Curran anchoring the back line, UMass Lowell won two Northeast-10 Conference titles. Their first NCAA tournament regional championship, in 2003, “is something I will never forget,’’ said Curran, the NE-10’s two-time Defensive Player of the Year.
His older brother and former soccer teammate, Brandon, is also a Hall of Fame inductee at Tyngsborough High and UMass Lowell. He is a captain with the fire department in North Charleston, S.C.
Their father, James Curran, was a three-sport varsity athlete at Tyngsborough High, and Pierce Field at the high school is named for their grandfather, Irmin Pierce, Jr., a coach and principal.
“It’s been an honor to keep up the family tradition,’’ said Curran, 37, who resides in Amherst, N.H., with his wife Krystle and their four children, twin daughters Averie and Emersynn, 9; daughter Hadley, 6, and son, Benjamin, 2.
Marvin Pave can be reached at [email protected].