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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Former Tiger Soccer Star Willis In Another Final 4 As N.J. Wildcats Host W-League Championship
By Bill Alden
Rochelle Willis has already taken part in one soccer dream ride in the past year. Last fall, Willis overcame an early-season knee injury to help lead the Princeton University women's soccer team on its improbable run to the NCAA Final Four in her senior campaign. This weekend, Willis will be culminating another special season as she hits the pitch with the New Jersey Wildcats in the W-League Championship at the team's home stadium at Mercer County Community College.
The W-League, the women's division of the United Soccer Leagues, has 34 teams in the U.S. and Canada. On Friday, the Wildcats will face the Vancouver Whitecaps Women in one semifinal while the Ottawa Fury Women and Central Florida Krush will clash in the other. The winners will play in the title game on Sunday evening at 7 p.m.
With Wildcats entering the weekend with a 13-1 record with 57 goals for and just two against, Willis is confident that the club can earn the title that barely eluded it last year when it lost on penalty kicks in the championship game.
"If we play the type of soccer we are capable of playing, any team that we come up against will have a tough time of beating us," asserted Willis, a native of Unionville, Ont. who was a first-team All-Ivy defender in her junior season at Princeton after being named as a second-team All-Ivy performer in her first two seasons.
"I think that in order for our team to be successful this time around, we'll have to play hard for all 90 minutes. We'll often play well in spurts or for only a half; but with the competition we'll be up against we will need to be more consistent."
When the Wildcats do put things together, they are formidable. "We have a lot of really versatile players on this year's team that can step into a number of positions," added Willis, whose twin sister, Janine, played with her at Princeton and on the Wildcats. "We can mix up lines and make substitutions without missing a beat and that's really an important feature at this level."
The Wildcats got a bit of a wake-up call as they fell 1-0 to Ottawa in their last regular season game. "I think having that L on our sheet is a disappointment but it will also give us a chance to see what we are made of and how we react to adversity," asserted Willis, who noted that this will probably be her last season of competitive soccer before she heads to grad school.
"Now we know that it's not just enough to show up, everyone is gunning for us and we have to play our game. I think we are looking forward to setting the record straight this upcoming weekend."
In Willis' view, the disappointment of last year's title game which saw the Wildcats battle the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 120-minute double overtime scoreless tie before falling on the penalty-kick tiebreaker, will help fuel the squad this weekend.
"A lot of us still have the the bitter taste of last year's loss in our mouths and we are looking to win this year," added Willis. "It's always hard to lose a game on penalty licks. This year, I think we all know we need to leave it on the field."
The fact that the Final Four is at the Wildcats' home base could be a decisive factor. "It's always nice to play at home," said Willis. "We're comfortable at home and we don't have the concerns of travelling to deal with. It will also be nice to have some supportive fans behind us."
Last fall, Willis and her Princeton teammates drew raucous support as they put together one of the most stirring seasons in recent Princeton athletics history.
"From beginning to end, this past season was magic," said Willis, recalling the 2004 campaign which saw Princeton set a slew of records as it went 19-3 on the way to the program's first-ever appearance in the Final Four where it fell 2-0 to UCLA in the national semifinals.
"Everything came together perfectly; from our experiences [in the preseason] in Germany to the addition of a great freshman class to our practice environment to our team chemistry to our coaching staff and parents. Everything that went into the season was magical."
The core of the special team was its group of seniors which included such standouts as two-time Ivy League Player of the Year Esmeralda Negron, Brea Griffiths, Elizabeth Pillion, Catherine Byrd, Sylvia Morelli, and Kristina Fontanez in addition to the Willis twins.
"From our inception, we've always been a close class," explained Willis. "It's hard to say exactly what made us so close. We had so many different personalities with our class that you would have thought it would have been difficult for us to all get along. For some reason, we just fit. I think we filled out each other's weaknesses and strengths."
Even though Willis was sidelined for much of the early part of the season due to a sprained ligament in her knee suffered in a preseason scrimmage, she never felt out of the loop.
"I was definitely disappointed with my injury but the team was going so well even from the beginning that it was hard not to enjoy the ride," said Willis, who ended up playing in 14 games last fall.
"It helped knowing that my teammates were willing and able to step into my position. I simply had to embrace a new role. I was fortunate to have a great trainer like Cheri Drysdale to take me though it all. We worked on regaining my flexibility and strength. Having someone as supportive and knowledgeable as her by my side really made a difference."
After Willis made it back to the field in early October against Dartmouth, her love for the game deepened.
"My return to the field was slow but I was elated," recalled Willis, who graduated with a degree in sociology and is planning to go to law school.
"It's hard not to take for granted the minutes that you play as a consistent starter but my injury helped me to appreciate each minute and the game so much more. Thinking about the season and the team, I've learned that hard work and teamwork can take one farther than anyone thought possible."
Willis will undoubtedly be looking to make the most out of every minute on the field this weekend for the Wildcats.
