By By Josh Hargett

It was late in double overtime and a tie with James Madison University seemed inevitable. Then a stroke of luck graced the women’s soccer team.

In a bizarre scramble where the ball deflected off teammate Kacey O’Driscoll’s face, Chrissy Arnone was presented with the ball and an open net. As the ball lay at her feet, the Merrick native displayed the calm of a seasoned veteran as she deftly placed the ball across the goaline.

The sudden-death goal clinched victory for the Pride, but the senior midfielder did not let herself become overwhelmed by the moment.

This wasn’t always the case for Arnone, who as a freshman didn’t know if her future at the University would even include soccer.

“I was overwhelmed a bit, and I didn’t think I was good enough to fit,” the senior said of her first year on the Pride.

Little playing time during her first two years didn’t do much to help her confidence. “I thought about quitting because I knew I could compete at this level, but there were still older girls who were rightfully playing over me,” Arnonesaid.

Last fall was a dramatic turn of events for Arnone. After finally cracking the starting lineup, the winger emerged as a leader and go-to player, tallying a team-high eight goals. Piling up 17 goals in the last two years leaves Arnone with 18 for her career, placing her sixth on the program’s all-time scoring list.

A physical education major who “loves kids,” Arnone aspires to combine that love with her passion for sports into a possible teaching career. “Plus you get weekends, holidays and summers off,” the senior said with a laugh.

However, she hopes to put that career on hold and continue playing the game that she loves. “I don’t want this season to be the last I ever play,” Arnone said.

Arnone credits her parent’s encouragement for her athletic accomplishments. “I don’t know where I would be without my parents,” she said.

With years of practice, not only did those nights improve her abilities on the field they fostered the tremendous admiration Arnone has for her parents. It was those nights when they took her and her sister to those practices after long days at work.

Arnone has come a long way in her four years with the Blue & Gold. Starting her college career as a scared walk-on, she has transformed herself into one of the leaders of the team. Named team captain, Arnone feels her role “is to motivate the players around me, and I try to do that on and off the field.”

During her tenure, the team has experienced a string of success never seen by the program. Compiling a 51-17-8 record during her four years, the 2005 senior class set a new standard by becoming the most successful class in school history. That achievement has been a great source of pride for Arnone and her teammates, “To share something like that, feels really good,” she said.

Those teammates are what Arnone will always remember about her time at the University. “Having the opportunity to meet wonderful people who I will keep as friends for the rest of my life, is definitely the best thing that has come out of playing soccer here,” she said.

As much as she has loved playing soccer for the Pride, there is one thing that Arnone has not enjoyed-the aches and pains of being a college athlete. “My body feels like an old lady’s,” Arnone laughed.

Chrissy Arnone’s career reads as success story. All of the hard work she put in during her time at the University has paid off tremendously. Starting as a barely used walk-on and emerging as the Pride’s leading scorer, the past four years have been filled with tremendous amounts of change.

And to think all of this came from a girl who didn’t think she was good enough to fit in.