Coming to America
9/28/2007 9:25:52 AM | Women's Soccer
Lauren Biggers - Assistant SID
The Wildcat women's soccer team registered arguably two of the program's biggest wins in recent history by taking down SEC-powers LSU (3-0) and Vanderbilt (2-1 in overtime) in back-to-back contests to take home the College of Charleston Tournament title over the weekend.
Leading scorer and current Southern Conference Player of the Week, sophomore forward Kyri Bye-Nagel, of Hanau, Germany, is a big reason for the team's recent success. Bye-Nagel scored a pair of goals over the weekend, and after recording a lone assist in her freshman season, has now scored in three straight contests for the Wildcat women, who open SoCon play tonight at 7 p.m. as Appalachian State visits Alumni Stadium.
A spark plug for the Wildcat offense of late, Bye-Nagel has netted three goals during the team's three-game winning streak, but the story could have just as easily been written differently.
With both of her parents working as teachers for the U.S. military (her mom teaches elementary school music, and her dad is a kindergarten teacher), Bye-Nagel grew up in Germany, playing high school and club soccer — in addition to several other sports — and dreaming of playing at the Division I level.
“I wanted to play in college,” Bye-Nagel said. “I wanted to do D-I to see if I could handle it, but if I wasn't going to do that, I was going to try to play two D-III sports, soccer and basketball.”
In hopes of securing a spot on a Division I roster, Bye-Nagel came stateside to play in a few different soccer camps, none of which the Davidson coaching staff was able to attend. In the absence of traditional recruiting avenues, Bye-Nagel sent a DVD of herself playing club soccer, but with the style and level of play so different overseas, the DVD was of little use.
“She initiated contact with us leading up to her senior year,” Davidson assistant women's soccer coach Winnie Corrigan '01 said. “Unfortunately, I was unable to get to the events she participated in, but I continued to keep in touch because there was something interesting about her. But, the scene in Europe for girls soccer is so different from the club system here, so it seemed that only by arriving here and placing herself amongst our team, would it become apparent what she'd be able to do for us.”
After receiving “glowing” letters of recommendation from Bye-Nagel's coaches lauding her work ethic and athleticism, the Davidson coaches elected to take a chance on her.
“I am reading her resume, full of unbelievable honors across more sports (track, volleyball, gymnastics, basketball) than any domestic soccer star would ever have the chance to participate in,” Corrigan said. “So I thought to myself, this kid could be a true diamond in the rough, and Davidson needs that type of kid!”
Because Corrigan felt Bye-Nagel's academic background had prepared her for the rigors of Davidson and her athleticism was unquestioned, she felt little risk in offering a spot on the team and a chance to tackle the collegiate game.
And though she had never seen the campus, met the coaches or played with any of her teammates, Bye-Nagel accepted Davidson's offer and began her journey.
“I remember my mom and I came a couple days before preseason and looked around,” Bye-Nagel said. “And I was like, this is great! I didn't want any old buildings; that's something that I ruled out. I like the brick; it's nice. I remember coming into Baker and thinking, 'I love this place. This is so cool. This is Division I. This is what I wanted.'”
“When her parents brought her to campus for preseason last year, she had a 'deer caught in headlights' look to her about it all,” Corrigan said. “I think she was awed at the beauty of the campus, for one thing, but the best part was when I took her down to our locker room at the stadium. In it were new cleats, training gear, a backpack, running shoes, and a Bye-Nagel nameplate above her locker — she was stunned! It was like Christmas in August for her.”
While she has certainly become one of the team's go-to players this season, success for Bye-Nagel was not immediate, however.
“I was lost freshman season,” she said. “I didn't know what runs to make. I didn't know what was going on. It seemed like everyone else did, and that was really hard.”
Bye-Nagel worked hard in the offseason and took advantage of individual workouts in the spring to gain a better understanding of the 'Cats offensive schemes.
“Spring season helped me out because it was more individual,” she said. “And so this year, I definitely think I improved a lot, and I'm ready.”
Agreeing with her assessment, the coaching staff couldn't be more pleased with Bye-Nagel's off-season growth.
“Kyri's overall development from last fall has been unbelievable,” head coach Greg Ashton said. “She arrived here as a sprinter who played soccer but has turned into a extremely fast soccer player who has the ability to beat a defender and then show great composure when she takes her shot at goal.
“You cannot coach speed,” he continued, “And she has plenty of that. She has added strength to her talents in being able to hold off a defender, and she can get herself into dangerous positions and then accelerate past defenders with skill. This improvement is dramatic, and I was thrilled to see her get off to a great start this season.”
After classes concluded in the spring, Bye-Nagel returned home to Germany for the summer, where she continued her upward momentum despite being in an environment not necessarily conducive to doing so.
When she returned in the fall for preseason, she placed first in the team's sprint-endurance test, proving to her teammates and coaches that she came ready to play in 2007.
“Last fall was a lot for her to process, not just in soccer,” Corrigan said. “The fall of freshman year can be overwhelming for anyone — and in Kyri's case she was separated from her family by the Atlantic Ocean! She came a long way just in the spring, and though I would not have imagined it would translate so well this fall, she deserves all the credit. She complements her physical attributes with a no-limits attitude; for a coach, that is a rare and special combination in an athlete.”
Since arriving at Davidson, Bye-Nagel has successfully acclimated to life both on and off the field. She has been studying sociology and intends to continue to medical school upon graduation. While soccer certainly takes up a fair share of her time outside of class, she has gotten involved in other aspects of campus life, joining Connor house and the Dance Ensemble.
“I wasn't part of a dance team in high school, but that's what we would do,” she said. “We would go out and dance. Here people don't do that as much, so I kind of missed dancing. I did all of the really ridiculous ones last year, like hip hop, but this spring I want to try something a little different, like salsa or break dancing.”
Despite not knowing any of her teammates beforehand and with her family an ocean away, Bye-Nagel has found a sense of community in the women's soccer program.
“She is a bit of a jokester and her teammates love her,” Corrigan said. “She brings levity to the locker room with her hip-hop dancing, a bold contrast to her soft-spoken outward demeanor. This year she has a new favorite, some Spiderman rap and dance that she has incorporated into her pre-game routine and goal celebrations. They crack up when Greg calls her a sneaky German (she is not German), so that can be good for a laugh.”
“She is a really interesting person,” Corrigan continued. “Having first of all had the courage at 18 years old to go so far away from her family and jump into something so unknown, just because of this itch to see if she could really play D-1 soccer.”
But she did and the coaching staff took a shot. While the story is anything but traditional, it is certainly a good one… and far from over.
Leading scorer and current Southern Conference Player of the Week, sophomore forward Kyri Bye-Nagel, of Hanau, Germany, is a big reason for the team's recent success. Bye-Nagel scored a pair of goals over the weekend, and after recording a lone assist in her freshman season, has now scored in three straight contests for the Wildcat women, who open SoCon play tonight at 7 p.m. as Appalachian State visits Alumni Stadium.
In Friday's triumph over Vanderbilt, Bye-Nagel scored five minutes into the second half, putting away a cross from sophomore Lauren Conner, to knot the score at 1-1, and the following day, helped the 'Cats to a 3-0 shutout of LSU for the program's first-ever win over the Tigers, one of only 12 teams undefeated to that point and in the midst of a school-record tying 10-game unbeaten streak. Bye-Nagel gathered in a ball just across the midfield line, beat three LSU defenders and slipped a shot past Tiger goalie Valerie Vogler for the team's final goal of the day. At the time, LSU was ranked seventh in the Central Regional poll by soccerbuzz.com.
A spark plug for the Wildcat offense of late, Bye-Nagel has netted three goals during the team's three-game winning streak, but the story could have just as easily been written differently.
With both of her parents working as teachers for the U.S. military (her mom teaches elementary school music, and her dad is a kindergarten teacher), Bye-Nagel grew up in Germany, playing high school and club soccer — in addition to several other sports — and dreaming of playing at the Division I level.
“I wanted to play in college,” Bye-Nagel said. “I wanted to do D-I to see if I could handle it, but if I wasn't going to do that, I was going to try to play two D-III sports, soccer and basketball.”
In hopes of securing a spot on a Division I roster, Bye-Nagel came stateside to play in a few different soccer camps, none of which the Davidson coaching staff was able to attend. In the absence of traditional recruiting avenues, Bye-Nagel sent a DVD of herself playing club soccer, but with the style and level of play so different overseas, the DVD was of little use. “She initiated contact with us leading up to her senior year,” Davidson assistant women's soccer coach Winnie Corrigan '01 said. “Unfortunately, I was unable to get to the events she participated in, but I continued to keep in touch because there was something interesting about her. But, the scene in Europe for girls soccer is so different from the club system here, so it seemed that only by arriving here and placing herself amongst our team, would it become apparent what she'd be able to do for us.”
After receiving “glowing” letters of recommendation from Bye-Nagel's coaches lauding her work ethic and athleticism, the Davidson coaches elected to take a chance on her.
“I am reading her resume, full of unbelievable honors across more sports (track, volleyball, gymnastics, basketball) than any domestic soccer star would ever have the chance to participate in,” Corrigan said. “So I thought to myself, this kid could be a true diamond in the rough, and Davidson needs that type of kid!”
Because Corrigan felt Bye-Nagel's academic background had prepared her for the rigors of Davidson and her athleticism was unquestioned, she felt little risk in offering a spot on the team and a chance to tackle the collegiate game.
And though she had never seen the campus, met the coaches or played with any of her teammates, Bye-Nagel accepted Davidson's offer and began her journey.
“I remember my mom and I came a couple days before preseason and looked around,” Bye-Nagel said. “And I was like, this is great! I didn't want any old buildings; that's something that I ruled out. I like the brick; it's nice. I remember coming into Baker and thinking, 'I love this place. This is so cool. This is Division I. This is what I wanted.'”
“When her parents brought her to campus for preseason last year, she had a 'deer caught in headlights' look to her about it all,” Corrigan said. “I think she was awed at the beauty of the campus, for one thing, but the best part was when I took her down to our locker room at the stadium. In it were new cleats, training gear, a backpack, running shoes, and a Bye-Nagel nameplate above her locker — she was stunned! It was like Christmas in August for her.”
While she has certainly become one of the team's go-to players this season, success for Bye-Nagel was not immediate, however.
“I was lost freshman season,” she said. “I didn't know what runs to make. I didn't know what was going on. It seemed like everyone else did, and that was really hard.”
Bye-Nagel worked hard in the offseason and took advantage of individual workouts in the spring to gain a better understanding of the 'Cats offensive schemes.
“Spring season helped me out because it was more individual,” she said. “And so this year, I definitely think I improved a lot, and I'm ready.”
Agreeing with her assessment, the coaching staff couldn't be more pleased with Bye-Nagel's off-season growth.
“Kyri's overall development from last fall has been unbelievable,” head coach Greg Ashton said. “She arrived here as a sprinter who played soccer but has turned into a extremely fast soccer player who has the ability to beat a defender and then show great composure when she takes her shot at goal.
“You cannot coach speed,” he continued, “And she has plenty of that. She has added strength to her talents in being able to hold off a defender, and she can get herself into dangerous positions and then accelerate past defenders with skill. This improvement is dramatic, and I was thrilled to see her get off to a great start this season.”
After classes concluded in the spring, Bye-Nagel returned home to Germany for the summer, where she continued her upward momentum despite being in an environment not necessarily conducive to doing so.
When she returned in the fall for preseason, she placed first in the team's sprint-endurance test, proving to her teammates and coaches that she came ready to play in 2007.
“Last fall was a lot for her to process, not just in soccer,” Corrigan said. “The fall of freshman year can be overwhelming for anyone — and in Kyri's case she was separated from her family by the Atlantic Ocean! She came a long way just in the spring, and though I would not have imagined it would translate so well this fall, she deserves all the credit. She complements her physical attributes with a no-limits attitude; for a coach, that is a rare and special combination in an athlete.”
Since arriving at Davidson, Bye-Nagel has successfully acclimated to life both on and off the field. She has been studying sociology and intends to continue to medical school upon graduation. While soccer certainly takes up a fair share of her time outside of class, she has gotten involved in other aspects of campus life, joining Connor house and the Dance Ensemble.
“I wasn't part of a dance team in high school, but that's what we would do,” she said. “We would go out and dance. Here people don't do that as much, so I kind of missed dancing. I did all of the really ridiculous ones last year, like hip hop, but this spring I want to try something a little different, like salsa or break dancing.”
Despite not knowing any of her teammates beforehand and with her family an ocean away, Bye-Nagel has found a sense of community in the women's soccer program.
“She is a bit of a jokester and her teammates love her,” Corrigan said. “She brings levity to the locker room with her hip-hop dancing, a bold contrast to her soft-spoken outward demeanor. This year she has a new favorite, some Spiderman rap and dance that she has incorporated into her pre-game routine and goal celebrations. They crack up when Greg calls her a sneaky German (she is not German), so that can be good for a laugh.”
“She is a really interesting person,” Corrigan continued. “Having first of all had the courage at 18 years old to go so far away from her family and jump into something so unknown, just because of this itch to see if she could really play D-1 soccer.”
But she did and the coaching staff took a shot. While the story is anything but traditional, it is certainly a good one… and far from over.
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