University of North Carolina Athletics
Back in Familiar Territory
December 16, 2003 | Women's Soccer
Dec. 16, 2003
By Whitney Freeman, Student Assistant, UNC Athletics Communications
For Alyssa Ramsey, things haven't always gone according to plan, especially when it comes to soccer. While the typical college athlete takes time to develop as a player over four years, success for Ramsey started early.
During Ramsey's freshman year at North Carolina, junior Anne Remy twisted her ankle the second day of preseason. Historically, head coach Anson Dorrance never started freshmen--players were told that they had to earn their start, a philosophy Ramsey herself agreed with. But Dorrance was in a bind with one of his star forwards out of the game. So Ramsey was thrown into the lineup for what seemed like a temporary move.
ut when the Cornelius, N.C., freshman scored two goals and made two assists in an exhibition win over Minnesota, Dorrance didn't have any other choice. From then on, Ramsey started virtually every game of her freshman year.
Virtually because Ramsey didn't start in the NCAA championship game that year, a moment that still stands out in her head. By her own admission, Ramsey struggled in the semi-finals. "I was a deer in the headlights in that game against Notre Dame. So I didn't start the final."
ut as she has a knack for doing, Ramsey turned what could have been a bad moment into something great. "A lot of the upperclassmen rallied around me," Ramsey remembers. "And so I finally got my head back in the game and was able to contribute. We were down 1-0 against UCLA and I assisted on Meredith Florence's goal that got us 1-1." The Tar Heels went on to beat UCLA 2-1 and win the 2000 NCAA title.
And now in 2003, Ramsey can add another championship crown to her list of accomplishments. She was even named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team, along with six of her teammates.
Ramsey explains that her goal coming into Carolina was to be an impact player and a personality on the team. She has achieved both. The senior ranks among the best in many record books, but the one that stands out is her career assists record. Ramsey finished with 71 assists, one shy of Mia Hamm's UNC collegiate record.
"I never think about [records] during the game," Ramsey says. It's not even something she thinks about after the game unless someone brings it to her attention. And although she admits that it would have been nice to tie or beat Mia, she points out, "We're talking about Mia Hamm; so it's not too shabby to be one shy of a Mia Hamm record."
One thing Ramsey has worked on over her four years is her mobility. She says that she started noticing changes in her movement during the ACC tournament of her sophomore year. The senior says she tried working on other things during her career, but her efforts weren't always successful.
"I would love to say my defensive presence [has changed], but that definitely isn't the case because even up until halftime of the final [2003 NCAA championship game], Anson was still yelling at me about playing defense up top; and it was something we talked about every year. So I'm sure he's wondering why nothing ever happened there."
It's hard to imagine that if things had gone according to plan, Ramsey would have been playing soccer not as a Tar Heel, but as a Cavalier. After all, both of her parents graduated from the University of Virginia, and since the day Ramsey was born, she wore orange and blue apparel from head-to-toe. But when her U-16 national coach, April Heinrichs, left Virginia to coach the U.S. Women's National Team, Ramsey took a step back to rethink her decision. She visited UNC again and decided to make her collegiate home Chapel Hill.
Fate had to have had a hand in that decision because Ramsey has been an integral part of the UNC women's soccer program and says herself that she would not want to be anywhere else. Not only did she lead the team in scoring her sophomore year, finished second in scoring her freshmen and junior and senior years, finished with 57 career goals, and is ranked third in NCAA history in career assists, but Ramsey has also been one of the reasons why this year's team was so close and why they had a chemistry that made them unstoppable both on and off the soccer field.
Case in point: with Cary serving as the host for this year's NCAA tournament, one would think that the proximity of the site would be a welcomed reprieve for the Tar Heels. No long flights. No major packing. And above all, having the opportunity to sleep in the confines of their own homes. Not so, at least not with this year's team. Dorrance was going to allow them to stay at home-in their dorms or apartments-on the Thursday night before the semi-finals.
ut, according to Ramsey, the players demanded that they stay in a hotel. "We were like 'No Anson. We won't feel like we're playing in a final four game tomorrow. We need to stay in a hotel.'"
That focus is typical of this year's team, a group of players that have been noted not only for their extraordinary talent, but for their character and heart as well. Ramsey says that talent alone cannot make a team great. "You have to have chemistry. If you can't read each other, how you want the ball, what kind of texture to put on the ball, then we're not going to win games."
That chemistry translated to a tight bond off the field. "Outside the soccer part, this team did everything together." Ramsey even plans to spend this summer in New York City with two of her teammates, Leigh Blomgren and Sophie Gervais, to look for an advertising internship. "I need something else to put on my resume besides soccer."
The closeness among the team is the thing Ramsey will miss most about next year. "What I found to be far more important are the friendships and bonds I've made with the team. Now that my fours year are up, I'm still going to have them. I cherish that much more than anything having to do with soccer."
Perhaps one of the things that will make it easier on Ramsey next year is the fact that alumni play such an important role in North Carolina's women's soccer program. "It's one big family," Ramsey explains. "The alumni are always coming back. They jump in and play during practice. "It's been comforting now since I'm a senior and my career is coming to an end, knowing that I'm never going to put on the jersey and go out on the field again, but I'm still apart of the program."
