e Battalion
Sports
Page 11 • Tuesday, September 21, 1999
»at was
ships
along her mark
Junior Alison Peters contributes to Ags
with ability to play several positions
BY JASON LINCOLN
The Battalion
icoring goals usually highlights an of-
'■^fensive soccer player’s career. Often
times, other abilities are overshadowed
by the more flamboyant skill of goal-making.
Blhe Texas A&M Soccer Team has no
shortage of players with abilities that go
/ond goal-scoring. Consistently, one of
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gbt wi strongest of these players for the Ag
Bs has been junior Alison Peters. Peters
Bs contributed to the team with her flex
ibility, leadership and soccer ability while
Hi making the plays that put points on the
scoreboard.
BPeters has found her rhythm this sea-
Bn, already scoring six goals. The total has
pi t her in a tie for the team lead with her
teammate and roommate Nicky Thrasher.
■ Even more impressive about the six
Hals is that she has scored them on only
ten shots, a .600 shot percentage, the best
§ the team. She is also tied for second in
1 Time-winning goals with two and has two
lllssists, giving her 14 points on the season.
Peters’ success this season has not been
ithe product of domineering soccer play.
Bit instead the result of consistent drives,
smart plays and an undying competitive
spirit.
I “I’m not a big powerhouse; I get it done
bv being more of a workhorse,” Peters
Hid. "I’m a very competitive person, and
that is what drives me, along with my love
lot the game.”
fl Peters has found success by working
Maid to stay ahead of her competition and
ightereHy learning more about soccer everyday,
the Fl ^instead of just relying on her natural abil-
targe:; Ifty. This gives her the edge when it gets
iseatawHght on the field.
I A&M soccer coach G. Guerrieri said Pe-
i ters is not alone with her fascination with
|every facet of the sport.
*1 p “We have more players on this team
[ that we classify as ‘soccer rats’ — which is
the equivalent of the gym rat, someone
who eats, drinks and sleeps the game, and
to dei
lionti
near!’
if:
the game envelopes a lot of their life,”
Guerrieri said. “We have several players on
our team, Thrasher, [Heather) Wiebe,
[Amber] Childers, [Amber] Reynolds and
Peters who really study the game and have
evolved their game because of their per
ception of the game.
“ [Alison] is the same way . She leads by
example because she never gives less than
100 percent, and she improves by her men
tality of always trying to learn the nuances
of why things happen.”
In her freshman season in 1997, Peters
was in the shadow of All-America forward
Bryn Blalack, yet was able to score 10
goals, good enough for second on the
team. She also added 11 assists to give her
an attention-grabbing Slpoints, second
only to Blalack.
Peters’ performance was not as strong
last season, as far as numbers go. She had
seven goals and four assists for a total of
18 points. Her season was highlighted by
a hat trick early in the year against the Uni
versity of New Mexico.
“I wouldn’t say I had a good season last
year,” she said. “Anytime you go through
a slow period, it’s a struggle to get out. I
got on a little bit of a bad side and wasn’t
playing as well as I wanted to be. I lost a
little bit of confidence and it hurt me.”
Flexibility has always been a key part of
Peters’ role in the game. Because she can
adapt to most positions on the field, she
has held a variety of positions over the past
four seasons.
When Peters came to A&M, she was a
play-making center midfielder. Yet with
Blalack in that position, the Aggies had to
find another way to utilize Peters’ abilities,
so she was moved to forward for her fresh
man season.
“We know we can move her around be
cause she’s versatile,” Guerrieri said.
“That’s how we can identify most of our
great players, by their versatility to do more
than what they like to do the most.”
With the strong play of sophomore
Michelle Royal this season, Guerrieri has
BRADLEY ATCHISON/The Battalion
Junior midfielder Alison Peters takes a corner kick against Ohio State University during the GTE Soccer Classic. Peters is tied with
junior forward Nicky Thrasher for the team lead in goals scored with six.
looked to maximize the teams’ offensive as outside midfielder this season. “They are to bend and serve balls and have
power by putting both players on the field “Two of her big strengths fit into the the capacity to get up and down the field
at the same time. Peters’ ability has al- profile of what a great outside midfielder
lowed her to quickly adapt to her new role should be able to do,” Guerrieri said. see Peters on Page 12.
0
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