Riggs hopes her blazing start can light the way

Scoring three goals in just two games in this her sophomore campaign, women's soccer star Carolyn Riggs is off to the same hot start she had last year.

  But Riggs, head coach Robbie Church and indeed the entire women's soccer team is expecting a much different outcome than last season.

  "Carolyn kind of had a typical freshman year. She came out with all her speed, she's so dangerous in getting behind people," Church said. "She scored a lot of goals early, [but] kind of ran out of steam at the end of the year in October when people really started marking her tight."

  Riggs has used the off-season, however, to make sure that does not happen again.

  The Indianapolis, Ind., product and reigning ACC Player of the Week is one of Duke's most prolific offensive threats. She can use her speed and stellar foot skills to weave through opposing defenses and put a powerful and accurate shot on goal.

  An All-ACC freshman selection last season, Riggs netted nine goals, one behind team leader Casey McCluskey. Riggs, playing in all 20 of the team's games and starting in 14 of those contests, took 50 shots, 32 of which went on goal.

Now a sophomore, Riggs is trying to maintain her excellent early-season play and is also relishing the opportunity to take on more of a leadership role.

  "As a sophomore I think it's a very unique position to be considered part of the leadership," Riggs said. "At times I had some finishing last year, and definitely I love it. It's a compliment. But I think more than anything I think it's easier to lead great players. Whether or not I'm a leader, I think that we have great people stepping up every game, and it's a different person every game."

  A major difference between the hot start Riggs got off to this season and last is attention she is seeing from opposing team's defenses. At the start of her freshman campaign when Riggs went on a scoring tare, she was not the focus of opposing team's defenses, but as the 2002 season progressed she got notice from coaches around the league. With the increased attention her offensive production tailed off, scoring just one goal in the teams final seven games.

  Now, Riggs has learned to cope with such defensive attention. In the team's recent victory over then-No.4 Texas, Riggs was marked every minute she was on the field. Despite the increased pressure, Riggs was able to penetrate the defense and deliver a perfect feed to freshman Darby Kroyer for the team's first goal. Then, just 49 seconds into the second half--and just 49 seconds after the Longhorn's coach surely reminded his players to mark Riggs--she again beat the defense and found the back of the net.

  "Last year I made the mistake of allowing other teams to make me play away from [my] strengths," said Riggs. "I'll admit, as a freshman I often caught myself being intimidated by some of the nation's top defenders who had years more experience than I had. I was preoccupied with the size or the strength of the other team rather than focusing on my own abilities."

  After receiving ACC Player of the Week accolades on Monday, Riggs is sure to see even more attention in the upcoming games. How she handles this defensive pressure played a large role in the team's success in upcoming matches.

  Riggs likens her drop-off in production from a year ago to that of the team. As she is resigned to make the 2003 season complete personally, she expects the team to maintain the same high level of play that they have shown in the early going.

  "Last year we showed a lot of promise early in the season, but struggled after initial success to fulfill what we felt was our potential," said Riggs. "This year I feel we aren't going to be satisfied with a ranking or a few good results."

  For Riggs and the entire women's soccer team, the goal is to make this season anything but typical, sustaining a hot start through to the NCAA Tournament.