In the “Underdog” cartoons that ran in the early 1960s and late 1970s, the title character is an unlikely superhero in the form of a scrawny dog in a baggy costume. Shoeshine Boy’s alter ego carries a ring containing a vitamin pill that gives him superpowers, which he uses to fight crime.
The Massachusetts women’s soccer team is labeled as an underdog for the 2001 season. The player’s uniforms, however, do fit. The vitamins they took over the offseason, combined with a rigorous weight program, have left them anything but scrawny and with the super soccer skills they need to fight opponents.
The Maroon and White struggled though an injury plagued 2000 season, clawing its way to an overall record of 11-7-1 (7-2-1 Atlantic 10). The impressive in-conference record earned UMass a No. 3 seed in the A-10 tournament where it fell to No. 2 Xavier University in a 1-0 heartbreaker. Despite returning 9 of 11 starters and earning five preseason all-conference and rookie honors, the A-10 coaches’ preseason poll placed UMass in fourth and clearly established the team as an underdog in achieving its goal. “Our goal is to win the A-10 [championship] and thereby go into postseason play,” coach Jim Rudy said. An addition to the conference has made that goal much more difficult. The Richmond Spiders are the clear favorites to come out on top in their inaugural A-10 season, but Rudy looks at the addition of the former Mid-Atlantic Conference powerhouse as a terrific addition to a conference that has concentrated on merely basketball for too long. “It improves our strength of schedule index, which is really critical for this conference,” Rudy said. “I think it’s wonderful. They have a good coach and a good program and I’m all for it.” The “underdog” Minutewomen are overlooked by the rest of the league due to last year’s health questions and the graduation of two solid seniors.
“We graduated two goal scorers and I’m not sure people are looking at us as a frontrunner this year,” Rudy said. “Although I certainly am, and so is my team.”
Sophomore Erin Lilly’s injury problems disrupted the team throughout most of the 2000 campaign. The talented forward suffered two separate injuries that forced Rudy into juggling the lineup. “We started the season with two midfielders playing the front and then [forward] Kara Green had a ruptured right quad that she was playing with,” Rudy said. “We never could get any consistency up front. With [Lilly] being not up to snuff and Green playing left-footed, we would dominate some games and not win. We didn’t score when we were good enough to win. Erin will add to that.” The 2000 A-10 All-Rookie Team member was disappointed with the way her season turned out, which she expressed to Rudy during the end of season interviews. She told Rudy that she wasn’t herself, and that he would see the real Erin next year.
The 20-year head coaching veteran has been pleased by his young forward’s preseason.
“We didn’t see the true Erin Lilly [last year],” Rudy said. “[Now] she looks like the Erin Lilly that we recruited. She’s fit, enthusiastic, and healthy. She looks good.”
All health questions have been quieted for the time being, according to Rudy.
“No one is coming in with any major injuries from the summer,” he said. “Right now all we have is just the normal wear and tear.”
Improved health and a very good freshman class will add needed depth to the front line as Rudy inked two forwards expected to become very good collegiate athletes.
“We have two very gifted incoming freshmen, Erica Wideberg and Stephanie Santos,” he said. “Those kids can play.” They can play so well, in fact, that both Wideberg and Santos were named to the preseason A-10 All-Rookie Team.
The solidified front line helps the team at the midfield position as well. Senior Brooke Bartlett, who was forced to play forward due to injury, will be able to play the midfield. Coach Rudy believes the all-conference player is much more effective at that position.
Bartlett’s accolades piled up after the Clifton Park, N.Y. native led the Minutewomen in scoring over the 2000 season. Along with A-10 all-conference honors, Bartlett was named to the United States National B Team, Soccer Buzz Northeast Region All-American Team honors, and Atlantic 10 Fall Academic All-Conference Team among others.
Junior Martha Conover, another member of the all-conference squad, will play alongside Bartlett in the midfield. The Liverpool, N.Y. native has proven a clutch player for the Maroon and White. Three of Conover’s five career goals have been game winners. She was also voted Most Improved Player by her teammates last year.
Seniors Kathleen Machamer and Katelyn Jones, junior Kristen Mena, and sophomore Janelle Khouri round out the experienced midfield.
Another preseason A-10 all-conference player, Sarah Cook, will lead the defense into battle. The senior captain started all 19 games as the Minutewomen allowed their opponents to score just 20 goals. The only senior defensive player, Cook will have juniors Alexi Rudd and Maggie LaBrode alongside her, rounding out the upperclassmen on defense.
Sophomore Luttati was the only freshman last year to start in all 19 games, a feat that contributed to her placement on the A-10 All-Rookie team. West Coasters Carly Turman and Brianna Weymouth are two highly touted freshmen ready to join Cook’s defensive crew.
Anchoring the UMass defensive effort is a deep goalkeeping crew led by last year’s A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, senior Julie Podhrasky. In her first season with UMass, the Dallas, Texas native allowed just 18 goals for a 1.31 goals against average, sixth in the A-10 and recorded a save percentage of just under 80 percent (.795). Podhrasky spent two years at Clemson University before transferring to UMass and saw limited action, appearing in just 17 games for the Tigers.
“The first part of last year was a case of [Julie] shedding rust, particularly her decision making,” Rudy said. “Julie has all the tools, technically, athletically, psychologically and in her work ethic and training. She knows the game.” Sophomore Kelly Nigh adds a tremendous amount of depth to the Minutewomen. The Seattle, Wash. native was undefeated at 4-0-1 in eight games as a freshman and posted a miniscule 0.31 goals against average that tied her for second on the UMass single season list.
Coach Rudy has pushed his players harder than usual over the off-season, leading to impressive results. The team worked harder in the weight room, leading to impressive changes on the field.
“We have raised the level of our weight training,” Rudy said. “Our players have bought into that weight program. We are seeing a lot of personal records on our three major lifts. We are seeing some nice spin-offs, psychological, and physical dimensions.”
Rudy also stressed to his players the importance of coming back to Amherst having worked on polishing their skills. The team didn’t let its coach down.
“Our skills have gotten so much better. We put a very high priority on increasing skill level and we have all come back more skillful.”
UMass has definite hurdles to climb in 2001, but with honed skills, improved physical fitness, and some luck from the injury fairy, this underdog should surprise many in the A-10 and make its 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
