Adams, Crusaders face off with Army and American in conference play for week six

Over the last two seasons, senior forward Samantha Adams has been a consistent force for the Holy Cross women’s soccer team attack. Adams, a transfer from Providence College, joined the Crusaders in the 2021 season. Off the bat she made a difference for the squad playing in all 16 games with nine starts on the season. In her sophomore year, she scored one goal and had one assist tallying a total of 695 minutes of action. As a junior, the New York native played in all 17 games with nine starts tallying one assist and a career high of shots with 12 and minutes played with 793. This season she has appeared in seven of the teams eight games games.

The senior made the choice to change schools after enduring a tough freshman year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her season at Providence was cancelled and moved to the spring for abbreviated play but she didn't feel it was the right place for her. To avoid a redshirt season at another BIG EAST school, Adams looked to the Patriot League and Holy Cross to continue her education and playing career.

“I loved school and I like to challenge myself academically. So I thought the Patriot League would be the perfect balance of sports and school. I really did like Providence and I thought Holy Cross was similar since both are small Jesuit schools. When I visited [Holy Cross], the girls just were really nice and I've never felt more welcomed," said Adams. “I just reached out to the coach and it all worked out. I got really lucky. Because of Covid I couldn't really meet anyone but watched a bunch of film on the team reached out to Fran [Francesca Ciatto], since we had mutual friends, so I was texting her a lot. She helped me find a roommate and made me feel super welcome. We're still best friends now. Fran and the team made the transfer process, which is tough, much easier and it all went pretty smoothly.”

Since transferring, Adams has stepped up greatly over the past two years. With head coach Ben Graham, she has shifted positions from a center forward to more of a wing player and learned to embrace and utilize her strengths on the field. Adams has gained more confidence driving to the end line, taking on players down the line and taking every chance to go after the ball. Not only has she worked hard to improve her game but also to become a leader and role model on the team.

“I care about my teammates a lot and the way they're feeling no matter their class. I like to make sure everybody's staying positive and not getting down about how many minutes they're playing,” Adams said. “So I always try to keep the mood up whether that be cracking a joke or building up someone's confidence. I try to talk to them saying, 'don't let anything get to you'. My role is to keep things positive and not let negativity get in the way of our team.”

Despite the team going through changes and lots of development in the program, the team has only grown closer and stronger.

“Getting to see the team grow altogether and go through the difficulties and challenges of a coaching change has helped us come together and bond a lot. Our senior class has a lot of knowledge and wisdom due to what we've been through and everyone is so much more developed, skilled and experienced on the field. That confidence and comfortableness is really showing in our games compared to last year,” said Adams. "This year we have a big freshmen class who are so willing to work hard and give it their all everyday. They have helped to develop the program even more so I think we're are stronger than ever, both mentally and physically."

The values and culture of the group have also changed over her two years at Holy Cross. This season the team is focused on being competitive and working hard every time they step on the field. Adams attributes the great culture to strong leadership and a united front coming from the captains and older members of the squad.

“Our captains this year are very unified and they take a lot of pride in that. The four of them are always on the same page. They always make decisions together and discuss everything before one of them makes an executive decision. That has helped the team a lot because when all four captains are aligned and unified, it's sets a precedence for everyone on the team to do the same. Graham always says, ‘our noses are all pointed in the same direction’, which is the biggest thing for us this year.”

Holy Cross is coming a tough week after dropping it's conference opener at Lafayette. The Crusaders did not allow a goal until almost 70 minutes into the match. The team defended well with the Leopards leading in corners with eight total shots in the competition. Senior goalkeeper Mackenzie Wagner had a strong performance in net despite conceding one goal off a corner. She managed three big saves including an impressive diving effort to keep Lafayette off of the scoreboard early in the second half. Adams checked in for the last 18 minutes of play where the Crusaders made a large attempt on the attack.

“We lost our first conference game but that's necessarily a bad thing. We still worked hard. We obviously need to raise the level a bit, but I think it's okay to start off here because we have so much time to make up for that,” Adams said. “We could have competed more for the first and second balls, especially in the air. That is something that we're really good at, but we lacked in the game on Saturday. We also need to work on defending set pieces because we've been letting up goals on corners or set pieces a lot and that something that is very controllable.”

Adams has high expectations for the rest of the season moving forward. The goal is to get to the post season and play hard for the Patriot League Championship. 

“Last year we were super close but we just came up short. Out of all my years here, this is probably the one we are most likely to making it to Patriot League playoffs. Our record is better, we are winning games and we are scoring more,” said Adams."Our team feels really strong and confident and we know we can win this year, which is not something we've always known in the past. We've never really had that confidence. So I feel really good about the season."

Although the forward has not yet droven in a goal, she wants the chance to get on the scoreboard. In the heat of the game Adams focuses on the present and doing what she can to get in the best position to get a shot off and help the team.

"I focus a lot on not getting beat by the girl that I'm marking. I take it very personally if she does beat me on the dribble or she wins a ball in the air,“ Adams said. ”I focus wanting the ball and going after it. I always want the ball when I get it. I want to take that girl on, beat her and get across her to get a shot off. That's my biggest focus in the games."

The Crusaders host Army West Point on Wednesday, Sept. 20 (7 p.m.) for their Cousy Cup game and then hit the road heading to American on Sunday, Sept. 24 (1 p.m.). After coming off the Lafayette the team is ready to make adjustments needed for the match ahead.

“Going into Army and American we need to lock in on those set pieces and really focus and not let our marks get on the ball no matter what it takes. We need to be competitive in the games and focusing on beating out your girl every time. That is going to be really important this week,” said Adams. “Just looking at Army, they are very strong and have a lot of endurance. Last year we were tied with them the entire game and lost in the last minute which was honestly really painful because we were right there and they got that goal in the last few seconds of the game. This year against Army, we have the endurance and a deeper bench to go head to head with them and get the job done. To win we need to stay strong, staying behind the ball, not getting beat on the dribble and really focus on getting on the first and second ball out of the air. They are really fast and strong and any little thing could make a difference in dictating the way the game goes.”

Adams first got into playing soccer because her mother put her and her siblings in every sport possible as a kid. When she was seven she started playing for club teams and developed in a prospect. The New Yorker continued on the club circuts while playing for her high school team at St. Anthony's. Her club teams would appear at showcases which helped her get recruited. 

“Playing club was was super fun. It was exciting to play with girls that were my age form different towns. That was where I met my best friends who I'm still best friends with to this day. It felt like I was part of a family, more than just a team because we were traveling to different states and all of our parents were becoming friends too,” Adams said. “A lot of the girls on my club team also played for my high school team. It was exciting to see those two worlds and friendships mend into each other. Obviously we built so much chemistry having played club and high school together. That special chemistry and bond we had really set those teams apart from others because we were playing together year round.”

The one piece of advise she would give her freshman year self or any incoming transfers would be to trust the process.

“Coming into college you don't realize how important an experience it is. In college soccer it can feel super frantic and scary getting on the field and going to practice freshman year but the experience helps so much. Once you're finally settled down, you realize this really is a process and you need to stay focused, trust it and everything will work out,” said Adams. “Transferring is a scary thing too since you are trying to make friends on a new team. Playing with new girls is very intimidating, but if you just be yourself people will love you no matter what. They'll adapt to who you are. Just work your hardest and stay positive on and off the field.” 

A double major in psychology and English, Adams is open to many different opportunities within the realm of fashion industry. She hopes to pursue a career in production for a fashion brand. This past summer she interned under an executive producer for Steve Madden and hopes to continue work similar to her experience. 

'SADER SHORTS

• The Crusaders stand 8-22-6 against Army all-time.
• Holy Cross leads 5-10-6 all-time against American.

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