Bowling Green State University Athletics
Coppes Has A Knack For Scoring Goals
October 03, 2002 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 3, 2002
By ERIK CASSANO, Sentinel Sports Writer - Kristy Coppes is the soccer pitch's answer to former Ohio State football standout Cris Carter.
Carter, it was said, just caught touchdowns. Coppes, a sophomore forward on the Bowling Green women's soccer team, just scores goals.
Lots of them.
A glance at her season stat line showed no assists, but four goals, through the first two weeks of play. Three goals came in one game against Detroit, as she earned her first Mid-American Conference player of the week award.
The four goals to start this season gave her 16 for her career, already good enough for third place on the school's all-time scoring list. She is already in the top five on the school's all-time points list, almost solely on goals. Of her 37 career points through Sept. 21, only five had not come on goals.
Her sophomore season comes on the heels of a dynamite freshman year in which she won the MAC newcomer of the year award and was named to the Soccer Buzz Regional All-Freshman team. Her 12 goals last year tied a school record and her 29 points were three shy.
"I set a goal of 10 goals for the season last year," she said. "(Head coach) Andy (Richards) and (assistant coach) Ashlee (Orr) said they'd even be happy with five or six, but I got 12."
Coppes has had arguably the biggest impact of any freshman in the five-year history of the BGSU women's soccer program. But she didn't come out of nowhere.
A lifelong resident of Northwest Ohio, Coppes was playing at Findlay High School when Richards first watched her.
"When I watched her play, I said we have to get this girl on our team," he said. "She's a natural goal scorer, which is innate. It's not a quality you can teach."
Richards said Coppes is not blinding fast. What she has are really quick feet and a keen nose for the goal.
"It is just something that comes naturally," she said. "In high school, I played one year on defense and then moved back to offense. It didn't take long to adjust."
Coppes has spent most of this season hampered with a sprained right ankle. The ankle kept her out of the starting lineup for the first three matches, and still affects her ability to cut.
But she's taking her injury, along with everything else, in stride. Good, bad and otherwise, Coppes is remarkably well-adjusted for a sophomore with senior-level accomplishments under her belt.
"I like the awards and things, they mean a lot, but I don't let it get to me," she said. "I know I can't, and I won't let it."
Coppes said she still feels the need to work at her game. She said it is hard to score goals, and with more forwards coming into the program, she needs to keep refining her game, as much for the younger players as for herself.
"With younger forwards coming in, I have to keep up. And maybe the more work I do, the more work they do," she said.
Second only to her talent, the other thing Coppes has going for her is unwavering confidence in herself. When she has the ball in her possession, she always knows what she wants to do with it, and believes it.
"If I can do it in one game, I can do it every game," she said. "I want to work to the top level."
Richards acknowledges Coppes' accomplishments and will readily talk about what an impact she's had on the program. But he said he won't put undue pressure on his new star, or make her try to fit a mold she can't fit.
He said just because Coppes is a prolific goal scorer doesn't mean she has to be a master ball-handler as well. He wants her to play to her strengths.
"I want Kristy Coppes to be Kristy Coppes," he said. "I want her to be as good as she can be."
And that's pretty good, at least from the early returns. Barring major injury, Coppes is on pace to become one of the best scorers in school and conference history.
"The world is her oyster, really," Richards said. "If she continues like this, there is no doubt she'll be the top goal scorer in BG history, and in the top three or so in points."
