When considering potential colleges, some recruits would stay away from a program with a second-year head coach that just graduated 13 seniors.

But that is precisely what attracted Sarah VanSickle to play soccer for Syracuse.

‘I saw it as an opportunity,’ VanSickle said.

She was right.

In 2005, VanSickle joined a class of 12 freshmen. After two players redshirted, the remaining 10 freshmen accounted for nearly half of the 22-player roster. Their influence on the team was felt immediately, starting in the preseason. The women, who all knew each other from club soccer, began connecting as soon as they took the field.

‘We didn’t feel like freshmen,’ VanSickle said. ‘We felt like just players.’

VanSickle and her teammates will host Dartmouth at 3 p.m. today at Syracuse Soccer Stadium.

That the freshmen didn’t feel like freshmen was reflected in the starting lineup. VanSickle earned a starting spot in her first game for the Orange and has started every game since. By the fourth game, the starting team featured six freshmen, including four on defense. VanSickle says that the lineup did not surprise her at all.

‘Age is just a number,’ VanSickle said.

VanSickle’s contributions to the team came right from the start. After playing only seven games of college soccer, VanSickle was named Big East defensive player of the week. At the end of the year, she was awarded SU’s Rookie of the Year award and Most Outstanding Defender.

‘It was great for my team to recognize me,’ VanSickle said.

But the voting was well-deserved. Junior Crystal Thune acknowledged how calm VanSickle is, a tribute from an upperclassman to an underclassman.

Despite finishing the 2005 season with a 4-12-4 record, SU made the postseason for the first time since 2001 and played in the Big East tournament for the first time since 2000.

Syracuse head coach Pat Farmer recognized VanSickle’s potential-she’s capable of playing at an all-conference level at several defensive positions, Farmer said-but also needed her right away. VanSickle responded as well as Farmer could have wanted.

‘Sarah is a tremendous player,’ Farmer said. ‘I couldn’t be happier with anyone than I am with her. She has the potential to be a significant leader in the program.’

She’ll have a talented class to lead with.

Throughout the 2005 season, the freshman class combined for 112 starts, anchored by a defense that had four shutouts and gave up one goal or fewer in 12 games. For VanSickle, this performance is simply a glimpse of what her class can accomplish.

‘I can’t imagine what will happen in the future,’ VanSickle said. ‘We just need to find the type of soccer we want to play and play it well.’

Published on September 24, 2006 at 12:00 pm