2008 Woodie Awards
Competitive fire, war paint color Kasper
Brian Kapur
Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: Sports
In the fashion of the Ultimate Warrior and former Minnesota Vikings star John Randle, Kelly Kasper puts on her mask of eye black by smearing it down her cheeks in a raw, uneven manner.
The Terrapin women's lacrosse senior midfielder's war paint is part of her identity as a player. Kasper first used the eye-black in high school, and now she and senior goalie Allie Buote use it as a pregame routine to get fired up.
According to her teammates, she leads by example by leaving it all out on the field and playing with a fierce competitive spirit.
"It's intimidating to be an opponent," senior defender Dana Dobbie said. "She does everything pretty much at full speed. Going at her in any situation, she's always going to come out on top. She is a relentless player all over the field."
In the Terps' season-opening weekend, Kasper led the team to impressive road wins over UMass and Boston College, scoring 16 points, nine goals and seven assists in the two games combined. Kasper's effort netted her ACC, Inside Lacrosse and WomensLax.com player of the week honors.
The Terps have relied on Kasper to come up with crucial, momentum-shifting plays when needed.
"She really was able to control on offense and find open players and finish on scoring opportunities when she had a chance," coach Cathy Reese said after watching the game film. "She's playing with a lot of passion, she is having fun, and she's playing with a lot of fire. She's just going out there and competing and playing at the top of her game."
Dobbie added: "She is the type of player that the team looks to for a goal, cause a turnover, come up with a ground ball - that little extra you need in a tight game. Kelly plays with a lot of confidence on the field."
Kasper's intelligence is shown through her intensity. Even as the eye black and seemingly reckless abandon with which she plays might come across as her being out of control, she has a different rationale.
"You have to be aggressive to succeed," Kasper said. "We are taught to compete as hard as you can. Sometimes when you compete you can get aggressive, and it can sometimes come off as too aggressive, but it's me just going all out all the time."
The Terrapin women's lacrosse senior midfielder's war paint is part of her identity as a player. Kasper first used the eye-black in high school, and now she and senior goalie Allie Buote use it as a pregame routine to get fired up.
According to her teammates, she leads by example by leaving it all out on the field and playing with a fierce competitive spirit.
"It's intimidating to be an opponent," senior defender Dana Dobbie said. "She does everything pretty much at full speed. Going at her in any situation, she's always going to come out on top. She is a relentless player all over the field."
In the Terps' season-opening weekend, Kasper led the team to impressive road wins over UMass and Boston College, scoring 16 points, nine goals and seven assists in the two games combined. Kasper's effort netted her ACC, Inside Lacrosse and WomensLax.com player of the week honors.
The Terps have relied on Kasper to come up with crucial, momentum-shifting plays when needed.
"She really was able to control on offense and find open players and finish on scoring opportunities when she had a chance," coach Cathy Reese said after watching the game film. "She's playing with a lot of passion, she is having fun, and she's playing with a lot of fire. She's just going out there and competing and playing at the top of her game."
Dobbie added: "She is the type of player that the team looks to for a goal, cause a turnover, come up with a ground ball - that little extra you need in a tight game. Kelly plays with a lot of confidence on the field."
Kasper's intelligence is shown through her intensity. Even as the eye black and seemingly reckless abandon with which she plays might come across as her being out of control, she has a different rationale.
"You have to be aggressive to succeed," Kasper said. "We are taught to compete as hard as you can. Sometimes when you compete you can get aggressive, and it can sometimes come off as too aggressive, but it's me just going all out all the time."
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