Soccer in Transition 10/25/01
By Steve Kirkland

Fall is a season of change. The weather changes. The leaves change. And sometimes teams change. At Vanderbilt, no team has embodied their season's spirit of change than the Commodore women's soccer team. A new coach, a new style of play, and a new attitude have revitalized the Commodore program.

Head Coach Ronnie Hill arrived in Nashville in July and in the past two and a half months has already begun shaping the Commodores into her type of team. She switched the club to a lineup of two forwards, five midfielders, and three defenders to strengthen the Commodore attack.

"I am very confident of our three defenders to mark opposing offensive players," explains Hill. "They are consistent, tough, and very smart. I felt instead of having a fourth defender like we have in the past, that we could put that player in the midfield to strengthen our attack."

The new lineup required several players to learn new positions for this season. Although not easy to do, the players have adapted quickly to their new roles and gaining confidence with each game.

Of the players who made changes with the new lineup, none has made such a drastic change or made a more immediate impact at her new position than junior Lizzy Johnson. The Scotts Valley, California native entered the season as a defender who had never started a game while seeing limited time her first two seasons. However, in Hill's three forward system, which was hampered by injuries, Johnson was moved from defense to offense.

"It is a big change moving from defense to forward," admits Johnson. "I am still learning the position, but (assistant coach) Jarett (Smith) has done a great job showing me the ins and outs of being a front runner." Johnson got her first chance to run up front when she made her first career start, on September 21 against the nationally ranked Texas Longhorns. She made the most of the opportunity. In the second half of her first career start she scored her first career goal. But she wasn't done there. Two days later, she made her second start, and scored her second goal and tallied her first assist and few days later scored her third goal in her third start to take over the team scoring lead. "The biggest adjustment I had to make was going from playing 15 minutes a game to 70 or 80 minutes a game," states Johnson. "I think I have handled the transition well and have been lucky to have some good finishes to score some goals."

Johnson isn't the only Commodore who is having success in a new position. Junior Marissa O'Leary also moved from defense where she spent her first two seasons coming off the bench to a starting midfield position. Now the Fayetteville, Arkansas native helps support the Commodore attack while helping guard some of the opposing teams' top threats. "I have played a lot positions since I came here," states O'Leary. "Now I feel like I have finally found me niche and I enjoy my new role on this team."

Coach Hill's new style and attitude can be seen in their strong play. The Commodores have challenged some of the top teams in the country this season and are improving and gaining confidence with each game.

"I think they have done a fantastic job and we have tried to put them in positions that play to their strengths," states Hill. "We moved Lizzy and Marissa because we thought they were both strong, dominant players in the air and Marissa would work well in the center midfield and Lizzy would be a good target player on offense. To their credit, their adjustment time has been minimal."Coach Hill isn't the only one on the team pleased with the transition this season. The players have bought into the system and are excited for what the future holds.

"I think we are doing a good job of stepping up into our new roles," states junior midfielder Kat Carroll. "We have adjusted to the change in style and battled through the injuries we have suffered this year. The coaches have done a great job educating us and making certain aspects of the game easier for us." As time passes this season, the Commodores will become even more experienced with their new coach and new style, along with letting their early season injuries heal. Chances are when the changes of fall come to an end in early November, there wont be many teams who will want to face Ronnie Hill's Commodore team.