Resilience Reigns

There was no glass-half-empty, though, for Collegiate’s girls varsity soccer team, which in a three-day span in late March dropped its first two games by a combined score of 4-1.

 

There was no whining or Why me? when senior forward and co-captain Claire Curtis, who scored three goals in the first four minutes of the Cougars’ scrimmage with Clover Hill, on March 6, sustained a broken left foot that would require surgery.

 

There was no This isn’t fair when ACL injuries ended the season for junior Kate Smigelski, a starter at center midfield, and sophomore Elise Robinson, a varsity newcomer, or when senior midfielder Kenley Campbell, a co-captain and two-time League of Independent Schools player of the year who’s bound for William & Mary, missed five games with a broken nose.

 

There was no shell-shock or self-doubt either when fellow LIS signatory Veritas scored a fluke goal 10 seconds into the Cougars’ third game.

 

From disappointment, you see, sprang hope. Despite the challenges, positivity abounded, and resilience reigned.

 

“Coach Allie (Albright), Coach Michael (Blair), and I are intentional,” said head coach Rob Ukrop. “We trained for two weeks. Then we gave the kids Spring Break off. We practiced the first day back. Then we played the best team in Richmond, Deep Run, and lost 1-0. Two days later, we played one of the best teams in the state, Western Albemarle, and got beat 3-1. We were thinking, Man, maybe we should have stuck around.”

 

There’s nothing that Ukrop would change, however.

 

“We like the fact that the kids get a break,” he said. “As we look back on it, those two games were defining. I feel like we should have gotten a draw out of the Deep Run game. Western Albemarle has a top talent (Reese Mattern) that’s going to Tennessee. She crushed us (with three goals), but that match for some 8th and 9th graders was their first time on a big stage, out of town, under the lights up in Charlottesville. On the bus ride back, we were thinking, Man, we fought back. We took a couple of punches, but we punched back. We hung around.”

 

For sure, the Cougars hung around.

 

They’re now 17-2 and LIS champions (13-0) for the third consecutive season. They’ve scored 85 goals, 71 of which were assisted, and limited opponents to a mere seven.

 

“Defense is how we compete,” Ukrop said. “That’s how we turned it around. Sometimes, bad stuff happens, but [responding positively to] it was helpful to our team.”

 

Junior Ryan Lewis (18 goals, seven assists), University of Mary Washington-bound senior Presley Garst (11 goals, nine assists), and freshman Ava Babik (10 goals, nine assists) lead the scoring.

 

Campbell (10 goals, three assists in 14 games) repeated as league player of the year. Lewis, Garst, freshman Ana Tornabene (seven goals, six assists), freshman goalie Josie Smalley (14 shutouts, .413 goals-against average), and 8th grader Emilia Afre joined her on the All-LIS team.

 

The Cougars entered this week’s VISAA tournament seeded second behind defending champ Trinity Christian (Fairfax). In the quarterfinal round Wednesday, they host No. 10 St. Catherine’s at 4:30 p.m. on the Charlie Blair Field.

 

What’s made this team so good, especially after its rough start, considering that the roster includes seven freshmen and two 8th graders?

 

“There’s definitely a lot of individual talent,” said Campbell. “When we created a culture that blends the young and old, we started playing well together.

 

“My freshman year I was terrified, but there were seniors like Julia Edwards who were super helpful and nice. I remember that feeling, and I had to make sure the freshmen and 8th graders didn’t feel that way. I’ve always had that in the back of my head.”

 

Ukrop, the LIS coach of the year, recalls the early days of team training when the youngsters, some new to Collegiate, warmed up at one end of the field and the veterans at the other. That time was short-lived.

 

“The kids are working together,” he said. “It’s been fun to see the growth, and the veteran players have been really intentional about embracing the younger players and providing them with the guidance that builds relationships. It’s been fun to watch that evolve over 19 games.

 

“When you’re new to Collegiate and don’t know the soccer program, you’re trying to feel your way through it. Everyone knows the young girls have talent. It was just making sure they were comfortable enough to bring out that talent and making sure they know they’re contributing to the group and believing in themselves.”

 

For the third consecutive year, the Cougars dominated the LIS.

 

Their success, Ukrop says, results from their individual work as well as their willingness to trust the process and buy into the on-field coaching and sports performance training directed by Coach Chris Peoples.

 

“I was around (William & Mary football coach) Mike London the other day,” Ukrop said. “He was saying that the beauty of coaching is that you’re part of this journey, and you pour a little bit into each of your players. You’re invested in them.

        

“Every new season, it’s a different group of characters with different personalities. We talk about the Bench Mafia. This year, we lost multiple girls to injuries. We had some young players step in and fill some big moments for us. Girls who hadn’t had an expanded role learned to play and contribute.

 

“We’re senior-led, but everybody feels part of the same unit. The games we lost, we lost together. When we win, we win together. The girls pull for each other. It’s fun. It’s refreshing.”

~Weldon Bradshaw