The Vanderbilt women’s soccer team concluded another SEC matchup with a shutout win against their opponents, the Missouri Tigers (4-7-0). Vandy had previously came off of a 3-0 shutout win against Alabama, so they felt confident that they’d come into this game doing terrific.
Vandy (5-5-2) won 5-0 against the Tigers last Friday. It’s certain that this team gave it 120% – all hard work and strong effort. However, it was Vandy goalkeeper Kate Devine who also helped her team secure the big win.
In fact, she made a huge impact on the field. While Missouri had the ball in their possession, the team saw plenty of opportunities to score. But Devine ensured that wouldn’t happen. She made not one, not two, but three back-to-back saves.
Thanks to the sophomore goalie, she ensured the Tigers wouldn’t make it on the board.
Photo courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics.
Devine has played soccer for a while, before being a part of Vandy’s team.
“I’ve kind of played every sport growing up, but there’s something different about soccer,” Devine explained during a phone interview. “It was just always the most fun and care-free, I would say. I just kept playing and it eventually got to the point where I chose soccer over everything else.”
According to the goalkeeper, she continued playing soccer and moved to higher levels. Soon, Devine made the decision to commit to Vanderbilt University. At this point, Devine says it has, “all kept going and it’s been great.”
When asked what motivates Devine, she explains that, “a big part of it is my family. I have high expectations for myself because I want to make them proud. I think that’s my biggest motivator because I want to see them happy with what I’m doing.”
In addition, Devine explained the kind of training and coaching she received that has helped her as an individual, mentioning that she would do private training with different goalkeeping coaches, most recently with Kyle Roelke and Lou Liberatore. She would also do weight training, which really helped her out. “I had great teammates and coaches over the years that have really helped me continue to improve. I don’t think I’d be here without them.
Visioning herself five years from now, Devine says she will have three more years of college and would love to travel since she didn’t get the chance to do much of that outside of soccer.
As a part of her future, Devine says she would love to play professional soccer after finishing college, considering it an opportunity and would be fun to do for a few years. “Getting that experience would really fun,” Devine said.
Devine spoke about her triple save play, saying that, “It was really fun. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t really have to do much the rest of the game. It was kind of exciting to have a play where I really had to come up big because I love moments like that. It’s so fun. I really loved it.”
She further explained that this play, compared to the rest of the game, was the highlight for her
Devine explained what was going through her mind during the play, which was to do whatever she could to keep the ball out of the back of the net.
She also noted that she didn’t really think during the play and that she was going with what she knew how to do, trusting her abilities.
“After, I was like, whew, a sigh of relief.”
But while it was a big relief for the Vandy sophomore, she was also determined to stay focused and stay in the game in case she had to do it again.
Finally, Devine was asked if she could stand on a platform and give a quote to the world, what would it be? “I don’t remember the exact quote, but it’s about working hard when no one’s watching. I think that’s a huge part in growing in your sport and personally. The work you do on your own is the most important work you can do.”
Vandy will be looking to improve their win-streak to three games against the Kentucky Wildcats today (Oct. 7) in a 6 p.m. matchup in Lexington, Ky.
*All images shown in this article were courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics.
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