Considering everything she's done for the team, the U.Va. field hockey program might want to send Jess Coleman a bouquet of roses to thank her. Coleman places in Virginia's top 10 in career goals and career points. She was named an All-American twice, and she led the team to four consecutive berths in the NCAA tournament.
In fact, Coleman hasn't even stepped foot on the field for the Cavaliers this year -- her career at Virginia ended in 2001 -- and her contributions continue to be felt. She's the primary reason that Kelli Hill, Virginia's defensive specialist midfielder who leads the Cavaliers into the ACC tournament beginning today, ever got serious about field hockey.
Back in the summer of 1998, Coleman quit her Futures field hockey team in order to play for another team in Canada. Her departure opened up a spot on the team's roster for another player. That player turned out to be Hill.
"I went to the tournament, coaches saw me, and I got a few phone calls," Hill said. "And then I was like, 'I think I want to play hockey in college.'"
Until that point, Hill had been considering playing basketball in college. She played the power forward for her high school and AAU team.
"I would've played D-III, some small school," Hill said. "It would've been fun, but I would've missed Christmas and you can't miss Christmas."
And on the field, you can't miss Hill. She's 6 feet tall with shoes, towering above her competition, and has long, strong, powerful legs that rest under her like tree trunks.
Since her sophomore year when she started 16 games, she's been a regular in the Cavalier lineup. Now, in her senior year playing as the squad's central midfielder, she acts as the team's defensive stopper and offensive spark plug.
"It's been her job to shut down opposing leading scorers, and it's been her job to distribute the ball and get the attack rolling," Virginia coach Jessica Wilk said. "She carries a heavy load, both on the attacking and defensive side of the ball."
Hill has been up to the challenge. Entering the final week of the regular season, she ties for the team lead both in goals (six) and defensive saves (two). She leads the team outright in points scored with 13, which is amazing considering that she started the year with nine points in her career.
Simple statistics, however, do not serve justice to the impact Hill can have on a game. There are no official tabulations for passes broken up, balls cleared, or passes-not-received-because-the-defender-is-breathing-down-your-neck -- areas in which Hill excels.
"She has the ability to dominate a game," Wilk says. "It's her physical presence. She's got good size. She's got good speed. She's got good strength. She has good skill."
Midway through the season, however, Hill was struggling to put the ball in the cage. From the start of the 2002 campaign, Hill was designated as the team's first scoring option on short corners. In her new role as goal scorer, Hill struggled, describing her play as "very inconsistent." In response to Hill's struggles, Wilk replaced Hill with junior midfielder Shannon LaVigne. The switch immediately paid off, with LaVigne scoring two goals and adding an assist in her first game at the position.
"I watched Shannon, and she's a great hitter," Hill says. "I said to myself, 'She has a hell of a hit, and she's going to put it in better than I am.' I knew that it was the right decision to be made. I knew that something needed to be changed, and if I was the one that had to be the change, then fine."
It's one of the few times the Cavaliers have had to put someone in place of Hill. And thank Jess Coleman for that!
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