After Syracuse’s 10-goal loss to Virginia on Feb. 27, SU head coach Gary Gait asked then-defender Catherine Rodriguez if she wanted to switch positions. The team needed more dodgers, and Rodriguez seemed to be a good fit in the midfield.

‘She’s got a great shot, and she drives to the net hard,’ Gait said. ‘We saw some glimpses in practice.’

Rodriguez agreed, and even after three-plus years at defense, she made the move. Since the change, she’s played a crucial role in SU’s offense. The Orange (8-7, 5-1 Big East) has gone 7-5 with her as a midfielder, with all five conference wins coming after the switch. Rodriguez is sixth on the team in both points and goals scored, and she brings a defensive mentality to the midfield.

Rodriguez had been a defender for her entire SU career and hadn’t played midfield since high school. But her success hasn’t come as a surprise to Orange attack Michelle Tumolo.

When she used to play defense in practice, she would occasionally take shots on goal, Tumolo said. Defenders will shoot in practice sometimes, but she viewed Rodriguez’s shots in a different light.

‘She would rip a shot and make it, and we were like, ‘Why isn’t she on attack?” Tumolo said.

The transition hasn’t been too big of a change for Rodriguez despite the lack of experience at her new position. As a midfielder, she still plays defense. But now, instead of sitting back and waiting for SU’s opponents to come at her, she’s on the run every moment of the game.

‘On offense now I need to focus. Like, ‘OK, I can be a threat to score,” Rodriguez said. ‘You know, really charge at the goal.’

Tumolo said she’s seen a huge change in the team’s offense with Rodriguez in the midfield. SU was lacking a little on the offensive side before her switch, and Rodriguez’s play was a big change, Tumolo said.

Her ‘sick shot,’ as Tumolo put it, has helped the Orange reach double digits in goals in nine of the team’s 12 games with her at midfield.

‘A lot of our goals have been coming from her, and it’s definitely been a huge advantage to our attack,’ Tumolo said. ‘She’s definitely been great on both ends.’

Rodriguez said Gait, a former player for Syracuse, helped her adjust to the new position as she became a second dodger in the Orange midfield. SU’s only other true dodger is freshman Katie Webster.

Rodriguez’s dodging abilities, along with her stick skills and shot, have opened up the Orange offense and have given the team more options besides Webster, Tumolo and attack Tee Ladouceur.

‘She’s been a consistent contributor on the offensive end of the field,’ Gait said, ‘and she certainly makes us much stronger in the midfield.’

Rodriguez is third among the team’s midfielders in goals scored, behind only Webster and Sarah Holden.

SU goaltender Liz Hogan sees Rodriguez as a player who has been a surprising help on offense this season and one that can help the team down the road.

‘She’s kind of like our breakout player this year,’ Hogan said.

Rodriguez is a breakout player who was only taking shots for fun in practice as a defender not too long ago. Now the Orange counts on that production, and Rodriguez said she’s more serious in focusing on getting better as the season continues.

Her offensive firepower in SU’s final two games and in the Big East tournament may determine the fate of the Orange. The team has two more regular-season games before the conference tournament. And with the team winning five of its last six games, perhaps her contributions on the offensive end are allowing Syracuse to peak at exactly the right time.

‘Took a chance on her,’ Gait said. ‘And I think it’s been a great move for us.’

rnmarcus@syr.edu

Published on April 27, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Rachel: rnmarcus@syr.edu