The NYU women’s soccer team had a successful season on the field — topped off with a trip to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament — but the connections and memories they made off the pitch were the season highlight for the players.
“I feel so lucky that I got to feel so alive for all this time with my best friends,” said soccer graduate student and midfielder Kelli Keady. “One of the beautiful things about the game is that you can experience a full range of emotions in the safety of a field in 90 minutes. You can be the happiest you’ve ever been scoring a goal, and you can be the lowest you felt. It makes you feel alive.”
After placing fourth in a tough UAA conference, the women’s soccer team was not guaranteed a place in the playoff tournament but was allotted an NCAA at-large bid. The Violets were one of sixteen teams in the nation to host the first two rounds, giving them a home field advantage and allowing for fans and family to support.
“A huge part of this team is the parent culture, the parents are so committed,” said Keady. “Hosting that NCAA weekend was so special, it felt like a thank you to them.”
The team delivered some of their best performances in those early two rounds, including a 7-1 win over Husson University, where Keady scored a hat trick. In the next game, graduate student goalkeeper Riley Felsher kept her 11th clean sheet of the season against McDaniel College.
On Nov. 23, 12 of the Violets took to the pitch for their last time, concluding a 12-6-3 season with a 1-2 loss to Johns Hopkins University in the NCAA Sweet 16 — the furthest the team has ever advanced. After going 2-0 down, first-year midfielder Julia Spang’s header in the 67th minute of the game offered hope, but the team was not able to equalize.
The final Johns Hopkins contest came with its fair share of fervent moments. For Felsher — who was unsure until last February if she was going to get another season in goal — found the game particularly rewarding, despite its result. The last save Felsher made in her collegiate career as a goalkeeper, in the 76th minute, was tipped out of bounds, instilling a short bout of hope for the Violets.
“I’m so happy to close out my career in a way that feels like I didn’t leave anything behind,” said Felsher. “It was probably the best save I made all season — I had to go out in style. It feels so special to have had that moment.”
This season started off with a challenging trip to California featuring two goalless games, but the Violets attribute their ultimate success to this rocky beginning. The team recognized that every game would be challenging on the field, but they thrived in the moments off the pitch such as bus rides and team meals.
“There were so many more soccer challenges than I’ve ever faced on this team over the years, but we just had such a good culture, energy and chemistry off the field that it really pulled us through,” said Keady. “It wasn’t always pretty, but we made it happen.”
Whether the team won, lost or tied, head coach Scott Waddell kept his coaching philosophy consistent throughout the season’s trajectory: Work as hard as you can, stay positive and have fun. Through two ACL injuries, ankle sprains and achilles tears his team, Waddell strived to control what he could.
“The results are what everyone talks about,” Waddell said. “But it has nothing to do with the results. We try to work as hard as we can, be positive and enjoy the journey. And we’ll see where that takes us.”
While the players brought trust and closeness this season, Waddell brought strategic tactics. Over the past two seasons as head coach, he taught the team that a win will look different against every opponent — the way they possess the ball, their strategy moving as a team and whose strengths to play to changes during each game.
“The beauty of what Scott brought was a strategy of the way we’re going to win each game is going to be different,” said Keady. “It depends on the opponent, and even more so, it depends on us. The coaches do such a good job of adjusting our formation to the teams we’re playing and kind of the way they play. The focus has always been, ‘Okay, here’s a scouting report!’ In the end, this is about us and how we want to show up.”
The Violets never fail to give credit to their teammates, making it clear each player and coach is crucial to the team dynamic. Keady acknowledges that the senior captains are just as important as the juniors stepping up to lead for next season, the offensive line appreciates the defenders holding play near the goal and the backline credit the goalkeepers’ consistency.
“The backline understands each other’s playing styles and has built a strong sense of trust and communication,” said senior center-back Rachel Kim. “We complement each other’s strengths and provide balance, which has been crucial throughout the season.”
As the senior and graduate students’ soccer careers come to a close and the younger players prepare for the next season, there is a hope in expanding upon what this year’s graduating class has built. The graduates are excited to experience soccer from a different perspective, and watch their younger teammates continue to grow the program and thrive in their newly found leadership positions.
“There’s beauty in that every year is bittersweet. This year isn’t special for that,” said Keady. “The nature of these programs, the turnover cycle, it’s super beautiful to watch.”
Contact Levi Langley and Sidney Snider at [email protected].