By Jill Saftel, News Staff
When senior captain Greta Samuelsdottir took a hit during the final minutes of a double overtime 2-1 loss on the road in Cincinnati on Aug. 26, her initial reaction had nothing to do with the pain of being sandwiched between two players and the feeling of something hard being smacked against the back of her head.
Rather, the Iceland native was angry. Not just because she wouldn’t be able to finish the game, but mostly because in the time it took for her to receive medical attention on the field, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats were given a chance to rest.
“Their team was really tired and I thought we were really outplaying them and those five minutes gave them a break,” Samuelsdottir said. “I felt like it was my fault even though there was really nothing I could do.”
That state of mind is status quo for Samuelsdottir, who said she doesn’t take one second on the field with her teammates for granted.
Head coach Tracey Leone said there was a heartbreaking momentum shift when Samuelsdottir went down.
Sophomore forward Lahaina Zoller said she and her teammates were extremely frustrated when they saw Samuelsdottir get hurt, and they knew there was nothing they could do about it but play harder for her.
“She has the kind of personality that makes you motivated as a teammate to work hard for the rest of the team because you see it in her,” Zoller said.
As the Huskies’ captain this year, Samuelsdottir said her main goal is to lead by example and to not take playing time for granted, which is something she knows all too well.
“I had to sit out for almost two years total with injuries, and I learned through having to watch everyone else play that I will never take being able to play and to practice for granted,” she said. “What I’ll try to do is make sure everyone really uses their opportunity to get to play.”
And that mindset translates onto the field, as Samuelsdottir led the Huskies to their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over the University of New Hampshire on Aug. 31.
Down 1-0 after UNH struck early, Samuelsdottir put her team on the board when she took a header and got past UNH goaltender Erica Correa 30 minutes in. She knocked in her second goal of the night in the 53rd minute off an assist from Zoller to give the Huskies what would ultimately be the game-winning goal.
“[Samuelsdottir] works hard to play up to her potential and to bring the people around her to play at their best level,” Zoller said.
Samuelsdottir’s leadership on the field and on the stat sheet isn’t new. She scored eight goals in each of her past two seasons with the Huskies.
Last season, she was selected to the All-CAA Third Team and was a 2011 Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner’s Academic Award recipient.
As her team begins to find their groove this season, Samuelsdottir has her chance to cement herself in the Northeastern record books.
“She’s playing out of her mind,” Leone said.
Samuelsdottir has earned a place among the top-five goal scorers in Northeastern women’s soccer history with the two she notched against UNH. Her 20 career goals have her tied at fifth with Jen North (2001-04).
At the end of the day, she said she hopes everyone gives everything they’ve got that day on the field. If you do that, she said, nothing more can be asked of you.
And the team – with 16 freshmen and sophomore players – appreciates her leadership style, Zoller said.
“She brings a vibe that makes us always want to play our best for our coaches, ourselves, and our teammates,” she said.
