Katelyn Gold signs with Fire Ants.
By TOM DIDATO Chronicle-Independent (Camden, S.C.) sports editor
As he continues to line up players for the first year of girls soccer at
USC-Sumter, head coach Giovanni Vlahos has a good idea of how he wants to
build the program and what type of players the Lady Fire Ants need to become
successful on and off the soccer pitch.
In Lugoff-Elgin senior Katelyn Gold, Vlahos found a player who can become a
cornerstone for the fledgling squad. Last Friday, the Lady Demon
forward/midfielder cemented her relationship with USC Sumter and its coach
by signing a national soccer letter-of-intent.
It did not take Vlahos long to understand what Gold would bring to his first
team at the two-year school.
"I just enjoy her physical presence on the field. She's a very physical
player, which is something, especially at the college level, you need," he
said following the signing ceremony inside the L-E library. "Plus, she looks
like a team leader. It's always good to have somebody like that. It's
something that we definitely need."
The fit seems a perfect one for Gold, who has become a team leader for the
AAA state playoff-bound Lady Demons. The soon-to-be L-E graduate said when
she looked over the USC Sumter campus and then met with Vlahos, she knew
exactly where she wanted to go to college.
"I've always like Sumter. It was the best decision to make," Gold said of
her decision.
"(Vlahos) came to me and talked to me about it. That meant a lot for him to
come and talk to me."
Before she will play for Vlahos next fall, Gold still has work left for be
done for Andy Bean's Lady Demons. Bean said he feels that Gold's game is
well-suited for college soccer.
"She's definitely going to be ready for college," said Bean. "She's one of
the more physical and talented players that I have on the team. She's a real
go-getter. She always hustles and always gives 100 percent. That's one thing you have
to have when you go to the college level. It's not just about playing soccer
at that point. It's about getting out there every day and doing what you
need to do to get better. Katelyn has that attitude all the time."
Saying that she is willing to play wherever Vlahos needs her to play on the
field, Gold said that she is already trying to gear herself for the
different style of play at the college level.
"I think it will be a lot more competitive and it will probably be more
physical," she said. "I'll have to step up and get my footwork down and get
things all together."
Due to her ability to make things happen on the offensive end, particularly
near the goal, Bean used Gold along the front line to take advantage of her
goal-scoring skills. At the same time, the second-year Lady Demon head coach
said, he believes, Gold could easily make the adjustment to playing as a
midfielder in college.
"Her stronger position for us is at forward," Bean said. "She's real good on
the ball, she can turn and is able to beat opponents. She's the best
finisher that we have, as well. That's why wešve had her at that position
the two years that I've been coaching. She's better suited there, for us.
"She's certainly well-capable of playing midfield. She's well-composed and
when she has the ball, she can create plays."
As he looks to shape his team around playing the more physical college game,
Vlahos said that, for the time being, he sees Gold as a midfielder in the
Lady Fire Ants' scheme.
"I'm going to wait until all the girls get to camp and then, see how they
mesh," he said. "As of right now, she looks like more of a midfielder, just
because of how physical she is."
Bean said he anticipates Gold improving as she competes with players who
will push her each day in practice. That, he said, will help in Gold's
development as a college player.
"Particularly coming from Lugoff, where soccer is not really embraced by the
community a whole lot, it's going to be a big change for her because she's
going to be around a whole team of people who play the way that she does,"
said Bean.
"In a way, it's going to be a positive thing because she will have 17 or 18
people out there with her, who will help her succeed, instead of having to
depend on one, two or three star players on the team to help her really
boost the performance of the team. So, it will be a positive experience for
her to have talented people around her and always growing and getting better
with her."
Saying that she is hopeful of earning a starting job at USC Sumter, Gold
said she is excited about being part of the soccer program's foundation. She
hopes that other quality players will follow her in building a winning
program. Gold said her mind is a bit more at ease as she enters her final
weeks as a high school student knowing what her immediate future holds.
"I would love to start it off for other girls and maybe inspire other girls
to come to Sumter," she said.
Vlahos said he anticipates the Lady Fire Ants' soccer program to take off
quickly once the players arrive for pre-season practice. He hopes to earn
the respect of opponents, students and fans as quickly as possible.
"The problem with being a first-year program is sometimes, people don't take
you seriously. I want people to know that we're a prime-time program, even
though we're in our first year," he said. "We are a system campus of
USC Columbia and we should be treated as such. I'm glad that we're getting
quality players."
Those words are one which excite future players like Katelyn Gold who is
eagerly anticipating joining the USC Sumter program once her high school
career is finished. Knowing what her immediate future holds for her, Gold
said her mind is a bit more at ease as she enters her final weeks at
Lugoff-Elgin High School.
"It is such a relief," she said with a smile. "I am really excited to get
there and to get started."
For more information please contact Bruce Blumberg, athletic director at 803-938-3838, bruceb@sc.edu
