Boston College Athletics
Coffey's "It Factor" On Display For No. 8 Eagles
October 13, 2018 | Women's Soccer, #ForBoston Files
The sophomore sensation is a big reason why BC is now a national power.
It doesn't take long to diagnose an athlete's "it factor." It's that unseen presence that's felt, and it's both obvious and apparent on first sight. It's a quiet, humble confidence wrapped up in a personal mission to become the very best. Not every athlete has it.
Sam Coffey has it. The Boston College sophomore is a soccer virtuoso built by a special blend of athletic talent and internal drive. She's one of the best scorers in the nation and statistically among the special class of elite. She's been a part of the United States national programs essentially from her ground level up, and she's helped lead the Eagles into the Top 10 of the NCAA rankings.
Yet she's still unsatisfied and hungers for the next level. She's on a journey and personal mission driven by a burning yet unknown desire to become the very best in the game.
"My goal from season to season or game to game is just to be better," Coffey said. "Even on a break from Thursday to Sunday, I want to improve certain aspects of my game, whether it's defensive principles or positioning. I'll actually write some of them down when I have tape on my wrist for a game. I write down the three or four things I want to get better at.
"I don't know that I will be satisfied (with my performance), but I just want to grow as a player and be the best for my team."
It's something she's already doing. She is one of 11 players nationally averaging two or more points per game and is by far the leader in the ACC. She is the national leader in assists, and her goal against Miami marked her tenth of the season and third consecutive game with a strike.
It's a big reason why Boston College entered this weekend as one of the ten best attacks in the nation and best in the ACC. It has the No. 8-ranked Eagles off to its best start in program history, one that improved to 13-1-1 after Saturday's tie against the Hurricanes.
"It's just fun to win," Coffey said. "I was a little nervous because, in the beginning, we were just winning. I think you tend to learn more about yourself if you have a loss, so that loss at Wake Forest became important. It gave us a second to learn about what we had to do. Now we're onto the second part of our second winning streak, and it helped us to win now. And that's just fun because now we're beating teams that beat us last year. These are the teams that got us in the last minute of a game and the teams that maybe kept us out of the NCAA Tournament last season. That's the best part."
Coffey's statistics have her national profile soaring for a second straight season. Last year's team Co-Rookie of the Year earned All-ACC Third Team and All-ACC Freshman Team honors after averaging a point per game in her rookie season. She scored five goals and became the sixth player in program history to have three or more assists in a game when she had a goal and three helpers against Colgate.
"I didn't know how to feel at first about the college transition," Coffey said, who currently has 10 goals, 11 assists for 31 points. "I played internationally and had thought it would be similar to that, but I was very wrong. There is nothing like ACC play and the spirit and competitiveness of the league. You're 18 and you're playing against 22 year olds with the physicality and the maturity in their game. It was something I hadn't seen before, but as the season went along, I felt like I was getting better and better in the game."
It led to the continued breakout this year. She repeated the three-assist feat against Albany, scoring a goal to equal the Colgate output from a year ago. She's been on the score sheet in every game except for three, including a current streak of five games, her second such run of the year. It's a testament to her skill, though she is the first to admit it's more of a testament to her team.
"As we go along and continue to succeed, everyone is stepping up their game," she said. "If someone plays better, it makes everyone better on and off the field. That's a huge key to our success, and it builds our chemistry. We're all so close off the field. I think everyone is stepping up and doing their part. It's not one person stealing the show. Defenders are doing their job, holding players are doing their job, and the front-line attackers are doing their job."
But it goes beyond the college game. Coffey has been in the United States national system since her sophomore year of high school. She was a frequent flyer for the US Under-18 team, serving as captain and earning Player of the Game honors against Northern Ireland.
"There's nothing like playing internationally," she said. "It's amazing to experience the styles of play based on a country. France is super technical and Germany is super physical. That's what makes it different from the ACC and the college game. Each country has a style. I wouldn't say that I like one game over the other, but playing internationally is such a great experience."
Coffey ultimately graduated from the U-18 program and worked with the U-19 and U-20 cycles, but USA Soccer left her off the recent roster announcement for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. It meant she won't travel to France this summer, something that didn't sit well with the competitive flames burning inside of her spirit.
"I unfortunately didn't get called up for the World Cup," Coffey said. "That led to some of my goals for this year. It's motivation. It's not that I'm bitter, but it's about channeling the frustration that I gave everything I had and didn't succeed. I know that I want to prove something.
"I look forward to hopefully being with the Under-23's after the season is over," she said. "I don't go into games being angry, but it definitely gives you that drive. It's my dream. I love USA Soccer, and there's nothing that I get more honor and pride from than playing with that American crest on my shirt."
For now, there's the matter of the rest of the season. Each collegiate match enhances BC's proverbial target, and every opponent brings its best against the Eagles. Saturday proved as much in South Florida, where the Hurricanes rallied from a goal deficit to force the tie in the Miami humidity.
Still, Coffey's "it factor" is a part of why BC retains its collective drive. She's driven to become the best just as much as her team is. The Maroon and Gold have the heart of the underdog and the embodiment of a team throwing its own record aside because it still has something to prove.
"We don't play with pressure," Coffey said. "We're so excited to be nationally ranked because we've earned it, but we don't enter games or practices with the feeling that there's all that pressure on us. It's what makes BC what it is, and it's one of the reasons why I came here. We have that underdog mentality. Teams still underestimate us. That's fine. They can do it, and we hopefully can kick their butts in the game. I still see in our spirit that we can prove all these other schools wrong. That's why I love BC. That's what we're doing, but we're continuing to focus on doing it."
The Eagles return to the road at the end of the week to begin a monster trip through Tobacco Road. On Thursday, BC will play at No. 3 North Carolina at 3 p.m. in a match with huge national implications. On Sunday, the road trip continues in nearby Durham against No. 11 Duke. All three teams are currently seeded in the top four of the conference, with BC tied in second with Duke and behind North Carolina.
All games can be seen via the ACC Network.
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Sam Coffey has it. The Boston College sophomore is a soccer virtuoso built by a special blend of athletic talent and internal drive. She's one of the best scorers in the nation and statistically among the special class of elite. She's been a part of the United States national programs essentially from her ground level up, and she's helped lead the Eagles into the Top 10 of the NCAA rankings.
Yet she's still unsatisfied and hungers for the next level. She's on a journey and personal mission driven by a burning yet unknown desire to become the very best in the game.
"My goal from season to season or game to game is just to be better," Coffey said. "Even on a break from Thursday to Sunday, I want to improve certain aspects of my game, whether it's defensive principles or positioning. I'll actually write some of them down when I have tape on my wrist for a game. I write down the three or four things I want to get better at.
"I don't know that I will be satisfied (with my performance), but I just want to grow as a player and be the best for my team."
It's something she's already doing. She is one of 11 players nationally averaging two or more points per game and is by far the leader in the ACC. She is the national leader in assists, and her goal against Miami marked her tenth of the season and third consecutive game with a strike.
It's a big reason why Boston College entered this weekend as one of the ten best attacks in the nation and best in the ACC. It has the No. 8-ranked Eagles off to its best start in program history, one that improved to 13-1-1 after Saturday's tie against the Hurricanes.
"It's just fun to win," Coffey said. "I was a little nervous because, in the beginning, we were just winning. I think you tend to learn more about yourself if you have a loss, so that loss at Wake Forest became important. It gave us a second to learn about what we had to do. Now we're onto the second part of our second winning streak, and it helped us to win now. And that's just fun because now we're beating teams that beat us last year. These are the teams that got us in the last minute of a game and the teams that maybe kept us out of the NCAA Tournament last season. That's the best part."
Coffey's statistics have her national profile soaring for a second straight season. Last year's team Co-Rookie of the Year earned All-ACC Third Team and All-ACC Freshman Team honors after averaging a point per game in her rookie season. She scored five goals and became the sixth player in program history to have three or more assists in a game when she had a goal and three helpers against Colgate.
"I didn't know how to feel at first about the college transition," Coffey said, who currently has 10 goals, 11 assists for 31 points. "I played internationally and had thought it would be similar to that, but I was very wrong. There is nothing like ACC play and the spirit and competitiveness of the league. You're 18 and you're playing against 22 year olds with the physicality and the maturity in their game. It was something I hadn't seen before, but as the season went along, I felt like I was getting better and better in the game."
It led to the continued breakout this year. She repeated the three-assist feat against Albany, scoring a goal to equal the Colgate output from a year ago. She's been on the score sheet in every game except for three, including a current streak of five games, her second such run of the year. It's a testament to her skill, though she is the first to admit it's more of a testament to her team.
"As we go along and continue to succeed, everyone is stepping up their game," she said. "If someone plays better, it makes everyone better on and off the field. That's a huge key to our success, and it builds our chemistry. We're all so close off the field. I think everyone is stepping up and doing their part. It's not one person stealing the show. Defenders are doing their job, holding players are doing their job, and the front-line attackers are doing their job."
But it goes beyond the college game. Coffey has been in the United States national system since her sophomore year of high school. She was a frequent flyer for the US Under-18 team, serving as captain and earning Player of the Game honors against Northern Ireland.
"There's nothing like playing internationally," she said. "It's amazing to experience the styles of play based on a country. France is super technical and Germany is super physical. That's what makes it different from the ACC and the college game. Each country has a style. I wouldn't say that I like one game over the other, but playing internationally is such a great experience."
Coffey ultimately graduated from the U-18 program and worked with the U-19 and U-20 cycles, but USA Soccer left her off the recent roster announcement for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. It meant she won't travel to France this summer, something that didn't sit well with the competitive flames burning inside of her spirit.
"I unfortunately didn't get called up for the World Cup," Coffey said. "That led to some of my goals for this year. It's motivation. It's not that I'm bitter, but it's about channeling the frustration that I gave everything I had and didn't succeed. I know that I want to prove something.
"I look forward to hopefully being with the Under-23's after the season is over," she said. "I don't go into games being angry, but it definitely gives you that drive. It's my dream. I love USA Soccer, and there's nothing that I get more honor and pride from than playing with that American crest on my shirt."
For now, there's the matter of the rest of the season. Each collegiate match enhances BC's proverbial target, and every opponent brings its best against the Eagles. Saturday proved as much in South Florida, where the Hurricanes rallied from a goal deficit to force the tie in the Miami humidity.
Still, Coffey's "it factor" is a part of why BC retains its collective drive. She's driven to become the best just as much as her team is. The Maroon and Gold have the heart of the underdog and the embodiment of a team throwing its own record aside because it still has something to prove.
"We don't play with pressure," Coffey said. "We're so excited to be nationally ranked because we've earned it, but we don't enter games or practices with the feeling that there's all that pressure on us. It's what makes BC what it is, and it's one of the reasons why I came here. We have that underdog mentality. Teams still underestimate us. That's fine. They can do it, and we hopefully can kick their butts in the game. I still see in our spirit that we can prove all these other schools wrong. That's why I love BC. That's what we're doing, but we're continuing to focus on doing it."
The Eagles return to the road at the end of the week to begin a monster trip through Tobacco Road. On Thursday, BC will play at No. 3 North Carolina at 3 p.m. in a match with huge national implications. On Sunday, the road trip continues in nearby Durham against No. 11 Duke. All three teams are currently seeded in the top four of the conference, with BC tied in second with Duke and behind North Carolina.
All games can be seen via the ACC Network.
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Players Mentioned
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