Sophomore Sydney Stoll and freshmen Kelsey Anderson and Alyssa Visconti knew each other before becoming members of the Massachusetts women's soccer team.
The three athletes - all Massachusetts natives - met playing for the South Coast Scorpions in the Massachusetts Premier League (MAPLE).
In recent years, in fact, the Scorpions have been a great source of talent from which UMass coach Jim Rudy plucks his potential Minutewomen.
"We've looked at [the Scorpions] for some time. This team, two years back, was a really special team," Rudy said. "I saw them play and they were just a wonderful team to watch - skillful, deceptive, all things I admire in players. There is a whole bunch of kids on that team that we looked at very seriously.
"But, your recruiting, a lot of it is conditioned by what your needs are," he continued. "How many people are leaving and where they play on the field and what you have left. That determines how you [recruit]."
Rudy was first turned on to the Scorpions a few years back thanks to a former letter-winner and All-American he coached at UMass.
Erica Iverson, a member of Class of '97 and a future WUSA All-Star, is married to Scorpions coach Pat Turner. With connections like that, it was easy for Rudy to know where to scout talent.
"Erica can speak well and about her experience and tell the kids and their parents about what UMass was like, and hopefully she said some good things about the coach that she had while she was here," Rudy said with a laugh.
He first noticed Stoll before the 2005 UMass season. Knowing he would lose six players to the '05 graduation, Rudy started searching for aggressive and intense play.
UMass needed players that could be creative on the field, take people on and provide some more quickness in the attacking phase of the game. Rudy says Stoll fit the bill.
"She was a great attacking personality. She has speed and quickness and skill and she loved to take on and beat people and you don't see a lot of that in women's soccer. And that's what we were looking for," he said. "We were a decent passing team, but we lacked some of that individuality and creativity, which can really change a game."
Since joining the UMass squad, Stoll has tried to make South Coast proud. She has also made Rudy grateful he looks at the Scorpions for talent.
Her freshman year she netted a goal and an assist, for three points. And her grit and feistiness told Rudy he snagged a solid player.
This year, Stoll leads the team in goals with three in four games. She also has an assist.
After Stoll's freshman year - and losing three more players to graduation - Rudy needed to bring in some quicker defenders and add some speed to the back.
Enter Kelsey Anderson and Alyssa Visconti.
"We liked [Anderson] for her defensive scrappiness and her speed," Rudy commented. "And also, she had [a knack] for going forward out of the back and she liked to get forward and attack but she was also willing to get back as well. So she wasn't just a one way player."
Anderson has started her freshman year in stride, already registering a goal and an assist.
As for Visconti, Rudy fell in love with her skill and composure under pressure. He says she is as skillful as any defender he has seen coming out of club or high-school ball.
Iverson spoke with the two players and got them to come to UMass for an unofficial visit. Rudy said both committed to play for the Minutewomen soon after.
One thing crucial to Rudy's scouting process has to do with personality.
"It's one thing to recruit good kids, but we recruited good players, as well," he said. "You can get great players in a lot of places, but the questions [are], 'What is their upbringing, What are their parents like, and What is the coaching they have received?' and Paul Turner does it right."
The Maroon and White already have another South Coast player on its radar screen. Rudy asked that the name not be revealed, but said the prospected athlete is being scouted for the 2008 season.
He won't be looking for just next season, however. Rudy knows he has found a goldmine in the South Coast and plans to continue digging through it as an additional source to stock his talent.
Domenic Poli is a Collegian staff writer. He can be reached at dpoli@student.umass.edu.
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