Women's soccer's Kriz back in action for Terps

Remi Kriz was a natural.

That much was obvious as she dominated competition while at St. John's College High School in Washington, earning All-Met Player of the Year honors from The Washington Post after her senior year in 2008. When she went to Purdue, where she started 11 games as a freshman in 2009 and scored a goal for the Boilermakers, it seemed not much had changed.

But after not playing in 2010, and then transferring back home to become a member of the Terrapins women's soccer team, she found herself in a strange new place: buried on the depth chart.

Soon enough, something clicked.

"I got away with a lot growing up," said Kriz, who's expected to start her third straight game tonight for the No. 16 Terps (8-2-4, 2-2-2 ACC) at No. 17 Florida State after playing only sparingly earlier this season. "I got away with relying on just being athletic and being talented, and for the first time in my life I was challenged to work hard here and it's really, really paying off."

The results of her hard work came to fruition two weeks ago, when coach Brian Pensky took the junior aside before the team's game at Clemson and told her she would be starting at center back against the Tigers.

"I just pulled her in the day before we left for Clemson in and said, ‘We're going to go with you,'" said Pensky, who'd seen his two previous starters at the position suffer injuries. "At the time, she was not happy with me because she was one of two players that didn't play in the N.C. State game and I didn't realize that. I think she was, in a good way, inspired, not pleased, but inspired by it."

Pensky, as he described it, "threw her into the fire" in the Terps' Sept. 29 win, playing Kriz for the full 90 minutes. While pleased with her individual play, he was disappointed overall with the defense's play, which had become fatigued from its early schedule and had not had an opportunity to train together.

But the game against an ACC bottom feeder was just the warm-up to Kriz's second start against then-No. 5 Wake Forest, one of the best teams in the ACC featuring one of the best players in the nation.

"Petrified. I was absolutely petrified," she said. "Those girls are so good and they have such a good rep and they play at such high levels. I was really, really nervous. I think it showed the first 15 minutes. But playing with our team, they're so supportive and so encouraging that once I got settled in and settled down, it felt natural again."

Pensky later applauded Kriz, who played all 110 minutes in the scoreless tie and helped prevent a would-be game winner late into overtime. In the 103rd minute, Demon Deacons star forward Katie Stengel made a run at the goal before Kriz slid in deep inside the box to stop Wake Forest's last serious scoring chance.

"We're really pleased with her, but now she's got to maintain that consistency," Pensky said. "That can't be a one-game wonder. She's got to be that good all the time."

Until recently, Kriz's most substantial playing time for the Terps came Sept. 7 against American, when she played 53 minutes, mostly at left back. Pensky originally considered starting Kriz at that position and moving fellow defender Lydia Hastings to midfield, but injuries to starter Mallory Baker and backup Kristen McAfee forced Pensky to turn to Kriz.

"I think that was a bit of a turning point for me, knowing there's Remi," Pensky said. "That's the kind of player she can be for us."

As Kriz accumulates more time in the starting lineup and out on the field, Pensky said he'll look to incorporate her more into offensive sets, harnessing her ability to attack balls in the air and using her long-range passing on free kicks and restarts.

Kriz's eventual role in the offense could play a crucial part for a team that has scored only six goals in six ACC games this season. Florida State (9-5-0, 2-4-0), the Terps' opponent tonight, has averaged almost two goals per game in ACC play.

While Pensky is excited for Kriz's immediate impact on his team, he also knows she can help the team in the future, long after her time as a Terp is over.