Devlin leading Rider's charge
Saturday, September 22, 2007

By ADAM ZAGORIA
HERALD NEWS

During her time at Clifton High School, Kayla Devlin was an integral part of one of the most talented dynasties in New Jersey soccer history.

During her four years at Clifton, the Mustangs won three Passaic County championships, one North 1, Group 4 title and reached the Group 4 title game. Devlin was named All-Passaic three times in her high school career.

Now a junior outside midfielder at Rider University, the 5-foot-3 Devlin is a big part of a team hoping to capture a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) title.

"Kayla has crossed the line from underclassman to upperclassman," head coach Kevin Long said. "She is a player who clearly has the abilities, clearly has the speed. She played most of last season injured so we rarely got to see her at 100 percent. We will rely on her to carry her load, which consists of being a goal scorer. She has outstanding vision and can take players on. She probably has one of the cleanest touches, and she is a very technical player. I look forward to seeing her mature a little bit over these next two years."

Devlin started 14 games last season, including seven MAAC games, giving her 25 starts in her first two years. One highlight came when she scored the game winning goal against Canisius. As a rookie, she was tied for second on the team in goals and was fourth in total points.

But because of injuries to both her quad muscles over the past two years, Devlin has not competed at her highest level. She suffered a torn left quad muscle last season that was not diagnosed until after the year was over. And this year, she has battled a pulled right quad.

"I haven't been playing the whole games because we're trying to get me ready for our conference season," Devlin said. "(But) I'm getting better, I feel good. I'm excited to start playing a lot."

Rider (2-1-3) had an eight-game unbeaten streak ended Sunday with a 2-0 loss to Towson. The team next plays Tuesday at home against St. Joseph's and Devlin is optimistic that it can have a successful season.

"We feel strong," Devlin said. "We look strong this year."

At Clifton, the Mustangs had a very close-knit team that also featured Nikki Krzysik, now a member of the U-21 national team and a junior at the University of Virginia, Nicole Tahan, Nicole Bisco, Andrea Kovalcik, and others. All of those players went on to play college soccer, and Devlin competed with some of them this past summer on The Sports Factory Academy club team coached by Mark White.

She said she experiences a similar feeling playing with Rider that she did at Clifton.

"I love playing soccer for the school rather than the club team," she said. "You feel like you're in a community. You have your family and friends. Your classmates support you."

On the field, Long is looking for Devlin to return to the form she had as an outside midfielder on those Clifton teams that dominated opponents for much of her four years.

"She brings a lot of technical skill to the field which is something we need from her," Long said. "And she has great vision, where she can play a great final pass and can help others get to goal."

"We're hoping that as she gets healthy, she becomes the dynamic player that she proved to be in high school and we know that she can be."

Blog: northjersey.com/zagsblog/