Swampscott native Samantha Rizzo is primed and ready to help lead the Colby women’s soccer team to a big season this fall. In fact, leadership’s what Rizzo’s all about this season.
After earning the starting goaltender role midway through her freshman season, Rizzo, now entering her junior year at the Waterville, Maine, school, has flourished in net for the Mules. In 25 games, 22 starts, Rizzo has totalled 163 saves and five shutouts.
As a sophomore last season, a year in which Rizzo was the team’s lone healthy goaltender, she made 98 saves while allowing just 19 goals in 15 games.
Mules coach Kristin Shaw, in her second season at the helm of the program, is hopeful the experience Rizzo gained in net last season will carry over in leading her to a breakthrough junior year.
“I hope the experience she gained last season will help her build confidence,” Shaw said. “She gained valuable experience last season. She was our only goalkeeper and she did a fantastic job. I’m hoping that what she learned and gained will help her continue to grow this season.”
After a strong sophomore season, Rizzo’s looking to take things one step further in 2017. Aside from making improvements on the field and sharpening her skills in net, Rizzo’s also looking to tackle a leadership role on the team this season.
“As a junior one of my goals is to work on my leaderships skills,” Rizzo, a former three-sport athlete at Swampscott High, said. “I want to help the first-year players get adjusted to Colby both academically and with the soccer program. Coach Shaw’s in her second season so I’m hoping she can look at me as a player that can help her set the standards.”
Shaw’s confident that her junior goalie has the necessary characteristics to be an effective leader for the Mules.
“I think she’s incredibly thoughtful, compassionate and articulate,” Shaw said. “Players are drawn to that. She takes the time to listen and that’s one of her best skills. I believe players gravitate to her. She’s one of our service leaders, meaning she finds ways for us to serve in the community. I think players naturally go to her for those kinds of things.”
“She’s a fantastic representative of this program on-campus and in the community,” Shaw added. “We’re very fortunate to have her in our program.”
Last season was a tough go for the Mules, who finished the season at 6-9 and went just 1-9 against NESCAC opponents. Although the numbers might not indicate a lot of success, Rizzo feels the Mules made vast improvements towards the latter part of the season.
“It was our first season with Coach Shaw, so it was a transition year at first,” Shaw said. “I think we started to gel towards the middle of the season. We beat Wesleyan in an exciting NESCAC win. I think we set a really good foundation last season.”
Rizzo’s hopeful that Colby can carry the momentum it sparked at the end of last season into 2017. The combination of a strong group of team leaders and a team fully behind its coach, Rizzo said, should equate to a successful year.
“We know what we’re capable of doing,” Rizzo said. “Now that we’re all on the same page, leadership trickles down. We’re fully behind Coach Shaw and what she expects from us. We have the leadership and I think this year can be a breakthrough year for us.”
In net, one of Rizzo’s biggest strengths is her ability to communicate with her teammates. By being an effective communicator and a confident goalie, opponents will recognize Rizzo as the type of the athlete who comes to play game in and game out.
“I think I’m really comfortable communicating with my teammates, being active and shouting commands,” Rizzo said. “For me, it’s about being at the right place at the right time and cutting down the angles. It’s important to be confident and let the other team know that I mean business.”
On the academic side, Rizzo’s pursuing a degree in a degree in a psychology with a minor in neuroscience. The key to balancing the challenges that come with being a student-athlete, Rizzo said, is mastering the art of time management.
“It’s about utilizing the little windows in your day,” Rizzo, who used to play on the Colby softball team as well, said. “If you have an hour between classes, what can you accomplish in that time? If you have an away game and a 10 hour ride to Hamilton, what can you accomplish at that time?”
“In high school, I played three sports and club sports all the time so time management is one of the reasons I got into the school,” Rizzo added.
With Colby’s season opener at Tufts just one day away, Rizzo and the Mules are all in on extending their season as long as possible. Colby’s main goal is to find itself playing postseason soccer.
“I think everybody wants to make playoffs and extend the season as much we can,” Rizzo said. “It’s such a privilege to wear the Colby uniform. We want to compete and work hard. It’s about that effort on the field and taking advantage of every opportunity we have and not letting anything slip by us.”
