Women's Soccer

By Jim Fenton, ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

EASTON They knew each other only as soccer and basketball opponents after squaring off on numerous occasions in high school.

Kate McCarthy was at Oliver Ames High and Kayla Certuse attended Mansfield High when their paths crossed in the Hockomock League.

"She was always their 'player,' '' said McCarthy. "We always knew we had to keep the ball away from her or else she would make things happen.''

"She was always a player I had respect for, and she said the same thing about me,'' said Certuse. "We were never like rivals against each other. We had respect for each other.''

McCarthy and Certuse were brought together after their high school days, however, when they were both recruited to play soccer at Stonehill College.

The former opponents became teammates in the fall of 2002, and they have also been roommates for three years and developed a close friendship.

"It's so funny now that we're the best of friends,'' said McCarthy. "It was strange when we first got here. At no point did I think, 'This will be my roommate or my best friend.' But that's what we are. At first, I was just excited to play with her because I knew she was a great talent.''

"Who would have ever thought when we were shaking hands in our senior year in high school at the center circle as captains that we'd be with each other a year later,'' said Certuse. "It's awesome. She's one of my best friends. We joke up the Mansfield-Oliver Ames rivalry all the time. They won most of the time in soccer, but we were better in basketball.''

The collegiate soccer careers of McCarthy and Certuse are winding down, but they, along with sophomore Ashley Bourne of Brockton, have been part of a local connection to help revive Stonehill this season.

The Skyhawks (8-3-4 overall, 6-3-4 in the Northeast-10 Conference) have a chance to make the conference tournament for the first time since 2001.

Stonehill owns the eighth and final postseason spot (22 points) with one match remaining in the regular season at Assumption College Thursday night. Unless ninth-place Southern New Hampshire (6-5-2, 20 points) is upset by last-place AIC today, the Skyhawks must defeat an Assumption team that was ranked eighth in the national Div. 2 poll last week.

No matter what happens, Stonehill is assured of its first winning season since going 11-7-1 in 2000.

Senior co-captains McCarthy, who leads the Skyhawks with 12 goals and six assists, and Certuse, a steady midfielder who has played 59 career games, have helped the program turn around.

Bourne, a standout striker at Brockton High before moving to midfield in college, is one of the reasons Stonehill has a bright future. One of a number of talented underclassmen, Bourne is third on the team with four goals and three assists.

"I could tell with the freshman class I came in with that there was a lot of talent,'' said Certuse, who has four goals and 10 assists in her career. "I remember saying as a freshman that I can't wait until senior year because I know we're going to be really good.''

That turned out to be the case as first-year coach Rolando Lopes of Brockton, who played at Massasoit Community College and UMass-Dartmouth, has pointed Stonehill in the right direction.

After the Skyhawks went 6-9-1 overall and 4-9-1 to finish 11th in the conference last year, they enter the last night of the season with a chance to be in the tournament.

"Our coach brings a lot of passion,'' said McCarthy. "He loves this game and he brings that to us.''

Stonehill, which opened 5-0-1, has been a different team this fall with the mix of the senior class and the youngsters blending in to form a winning unit.

McCarthy has been the offensive leader as she is tied for third in the NE-10 in points and is fourth in goals. She will likely be the second player in school history to lead Stonehill in scoring all four years, joining Lindsay Pepler (1996-99).

With 87 points (34 goals, 19 assists), McCarthy is third on the all-time scoring list at Stonehill and she has four career hat tricks.

"She's a versatile player,'' said Certuse. "She has a lot of speed, and players lay off of her and she'll shoot. Then she can attack and beat you with her speed.''

"This couldn't have come at a better time,'' said McCarthy of the success. "Sometimes it feels like a weight has been lifted off me because it's my senior year and I have nothing to lose.

"I don't know if I expected this, but it's something I hoped for. I wanted to have a winning season because that's the way the seniors wanted to go out.''

McCarthy is the top offensive weapon, followed by Lauren Boyd (10 goals, six assists), and Certuse has had a hand in setting them up.

"She gets the ball and it just sticks to her foot,'' said McCarthy. "She's calm, collected, sees the field. She knows exactly where to put the ball.

"Everyone makes fun of us. They swear we've played together longer than four years. But I know exactly where she'll be and she knows where I'll be.''

Certuse, whose parents attended Stonehill, said there is a chemistry that has developed over the years.

"She knows what to expect from me, and I know what to expect from her,'' said Certuse.

Bourne, who was in and out of the lineup as a freshman, made the move to midfield this season and has adapted to the new position.

"I was a striker all my life, so it was a change,'' said Bourne, whose Brockton High teammate, Jacqueline Devin, has started one game for Stonehill this season and appeared in 12. "All that running, I wasn't used to it. Now I do like it. At the beginning, it was hard because I had to remember to come back (from the offensive zone).''

Said McCarthy, "She's been amazing. She had a rough freshman year and the change was tough on her, but the change in the level of play is unbelievable now. She's a completely different player.''

With players like Bourne and a number of other freshman and sophomores returning next year with experience, Certuse sees nothing but good things ahead for the Skyhawks.

"They're going to be one of the top teams for years to come,'' said Certuse.

Stonehill would like to extend its season as long as possible and is hoping to find a way into the NE-10 tourney, which begins Sunday. A victory over Assumption is probably going to be the route that will have to be taken.

"It'd be pretty hard if we don't make it because there have been games we should have won,'' said McCarthy. "The record doesn't show what we've accomplished this year. We have really improved and it's going to get better.''

Said Certuse, "It would be hard because we've been playing so well all season long. I really want to make the tournament for the rest of the girls on my team.

"We've worked so hard and it'd be a great way to end our careers and start off our coach's career.''