She may not be a culinary master like Bobby Flay or Masaharu Morimoto, stars of the Food Network’s hit show Iron Chef, in fact she doesn’t even like to cook. But while those two have her number in the kitchen, she could easily run circles around both of them on a soccer pitch.
Sarah Cook arrived in Amherst four years ago after starring at soccer, basketball and track for Sycamore High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was in soccer that she separated herself from the crowd, winning all-city and all Greater Miami Conference selections her senior year. Her performance helped her win a number of scholarship offers from around the country and she was eventually forced to choose between UMass and Florida State.
“I almost committed to Florida State and Coach [UMass’ Jim Rudy] called me that [signing] week,” Cook, a sociology major, said. “He wanted me to come in for a visit as a last minute thing. But I ended up coming in and making the choice to come here.”
Cook, an attacking midfielder, was thrown into the mix from the moment she arrived on campus, appearing in and starting all 21 matches for the Minutewomen in 1998. However, the team struggled that season finishing with a 10-11 record and missing out on the NCAA Tournament.
“For some odd reason, little girl Ohio had always followed the UMass program and known about the tradition and all the NCAA appearances and I wanted to be a part of that tradition,” Cook, said. “So it was really tough [that first season]. For me it was a big thing to try and get that tradition back. I learned a lot my freshman year.”
Next year was somewhat better for Cook and the Minutewomen as they improved to 11-5-1 but lost to Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Cook set career highs in goals, assists and points that season, finishing with eight points (2 goals and 4 assists), placing her fifth on the team scoring chart. She tallied a pair of goals and an assist in the Maroon and White’s season opener, a 6-0 triumph over Albany.
Then it all got turned around.
Following a successful two years in the UMass midfield, Cook looked like she would be a permanent fixture there for her final two seasons. But Coach Rudy had other ideas. During the spring of Cook’s sophomore year he informed her that she would be the new UMass sweeper.
“I think it was out of necessity [that we made the switch,]” Rudy said. “We tried it indoors and she handled that role so well I decided to try it in the spring too, and we went with it. What I admire about her is that she sacrificed a very dynamic attacking midfield role, and that’s a great sacrifice to make, it’s a hard one. I don’t know how many players would do it.”
“My junior year that was a big, big transition for me,” Cook said of the move to the back. “It’s a position where you learn a lot through game experience, so it was hard. But overall I’ve really liked the change and it was what was best for the team.”
Along with making the move to sweeper, Cook had her responsibilities greatly increased when Rudy named her team captain for the 2000 season.
“She had earlier leadership qualities than some of the other kids,” Rudy said. “It’s unusual to have a junior-senior captain, but for me she was my captain, that is who I wanted and that’s who I felt comfortable with.”
“I was really surprised [being named captain] because I was only a junior and because I was the only one,” Cook said. “It was a weird role for me to step into being that young trying to lead the team, it was so overwhelming.”
However, “Cookie”, as she is known by her teammates, did not let the changes get to her. It was in her junior season of 2000 that Cook truly came into her own, starting all 19 matches for the Minutewomen while marshalling a defense that allowed just 20 goals in 19 matches. For her effort Cook was named first team all-Atlantic 10, second team National Soccer Coaches Association of America Northeast Region and third team Soccer Buzz all-Northeast Region.
Playing a major role in Cook’s success was her high fitness level. A former high school track star who still runs extensively during the off season, Cook was able to play most if not all of the Minutewomen’s 19 matches in 2000.
“Being a sweeper you probably do the least amount of running out of the whole team,” she said. “But fitness is one of my big things so I don’t plan to come out of any game.”
Despite all of her success through her first three years on campus, Cook had never won the A-10 Tournament nor appeared in a NCAA Tournament game.These were goals that her and her teammates set out to reach in 2001.
“We had team meetings during the preseason and we wanted to win the A-10 regular season, A-10 Tournament and make it to NCAA’s,” she said.
However, despite being named to the preseason all-conference team and starting the season 10-2, Cook and the rest of the Minutewomen barely missed out on the postseason this year, finishing fifth in the A-10 just a point behind fourth placed Xavier.
Captain Cook and the rest of the Massachusetts defense held opponents to just 23 goals and at one point went more than 500 minutes without allowing a score. Again, fitness played a major role for her as she played each and every minute of every game in 2001.
“It was a hell of a long season, but she can do that because she’s so strong,” Rudy said.
Even though she was unable to help get UMass back into the NCAA’s, Cook can take solace in the fact that she has helped return the women’s soccer program to an elite level during her time wearing the Maroon and White. Also she has left an example for future generations of Minutewomen on how to handle the ups and downs that go along with playing the sport at such a high level.
“She’s overcome some adversity to do real well. I hope she goes on to become a Graduate Assistant coach somewhere because I’d like to see her stay in the sport,” her coach said of her.
While her UMass career might not have ended the way that she had envisioned it, Cook can look back fondly at her time in the Pioneer Valley and all that it brought her.
“I really feel like they’re my sisters,” Cook said of her fellow graduating seniors. “It feels like I’ve known them forever, it’s really been awesome.”
