When Sara Grimsgaard and Katie Peck started living together last year, they had no idea how much time they would spend together.

Both Syracuse women’s soccer players will be redshirt freshmen this year after season-ending injuries delayed the start of their careers with the Orange. The injuries were difficult for Peck and Grimsgaard to handle, but the time off created a special bond between the roommates while they battled to return to the field.

‘That was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,’ Grimsgaard said. ‘I don’t know if I would have made it through without her.’

Grimsgaard and Peck are healthy and contributing to the Orange this year. Peck has played in seven games, starting four. Grimsgaard has started six times and played in all eight of her team’s contests. Grimsgaard also scored her first goal of the year against Portland State on Sept. 10, a game-winner.

Peck, Grimsgaard and the SU women’s soccer team will travel to Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown, W.Va., on Friday to play No. 6 West Virginia. The Orange hosts Pittsburgh at SU Soccer Stadium at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Peck and Grimsgaard were a part of the team last year even though they could not play. They practiced, went to home games and spent time with their teammates off the field. When SU (1-6-1, 0-1-0 Big East) traveled to games on the road, the injured players were left behind.

‘It’s hard for people to be away from the team,’ SU head coach Pat Farmer said. ‘The team is a built in support system.’

Farmer said he worries about players that are left alone on road trips because they can’t be with their friends. He didn’t need to worry about Peck and Grimsgaard because they became close friends because of their injuries.

The roommates spent most of their time together last year. They trained together, ate together and went out together. In their off time they watched ‘Friday Night Lights’ for inspiration and attempted to think about anything but soccer.

‘We just hung out a lot, tried to take our minds off it,’ Peck said. ‘But we were big fans of the team so we wanted to know what was going on.’

Peck and Grimsgaard had enough to deal with before the injuries, entering a new school with new teammates in a Division I sport. Then, before they could fully bond with the team, they had to spend the season watching from the bench.

While the other players tried to make them a part of the team, it was tough for them to relate to the injured freshmen.

‘Other people said things like, ‘Yeah, I feel bad, I know what you’re going through,’ but they really don’t,’ Peck said. ‘Especially as freshmen never getting to play, you do feel a little on the outside.’

Luckily for Peck and Grimsgaard, they didn’t have to go far to find someone who knew how they felt. The most important thing for them was having a friend for support.

‘We were going through a lot and we understood each other,’ Grimsgaard said. ‘The friendship developed over time because of our situation. She’s a great girl and I love her to death.’

Grimsgaard and Peck were randomly assigned to be roommates in their first year at Syracuse, but Farmer joked the injuries may not have been coincidental.

‘I don’t know why, but (the coaches) didn’t realize when they were both injured early on that they were rooming together,’ Farmer said. ‘Then it was like, ‘Maybe it’s the room.”

Published on September 20, 2006 at 12:00 pm