Devin

I love Devin's accent.  I seriously thought that she was recruited off of the set of Goodfellas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH-7he92XfI

(Karen Hill in the movie reminds me of Cory for some reason.  Maybe it's her hair, or it's the fact that she is Jewish.  I'm not quite sure.  She just does)
 
She is one of the first  Long Islander's that I knew.  Not the first, but one of the first, and certainly the first one with a thick accent.  During our trip to New Jersey I asked her just to pronounce things on the bus. 

I remember walking past Devin and her class for the first few weeks and it was awkward.  It took a little bit before I got some hellos.

Then we traveled and once we traveled I got to know Devin much better.  She would usually sit behind me on the bus and we would keep each other entertained.  She would watch what I did on the computer, or try to guess whose picture I was cutting out on facebook.  She would tell stories about Long Island as well.  Devin and Skoges were the best to have sitting behind you on the bus.  They were fun. 

Her interview was great.  She really is an awesome interview because she is a great talker and talks with a lot of emotion.  She isn't monotone at all.  One of my favorite lines from an interview was when I asked her what the difference is between Queens and Long Island.  She went "Queens is like the hood, and Long Island is just nice."  I also loved her impersonations of other players.  They were good.

She also told a great story about being a life guard over the summer.  It was a very animated and funny story. 

I remember her telling me that her father doesn't like soccer and doesn't usually watch her games.  When he did watch her she told me that he said she wasn't any good.

He's not quite right on her talent level.  Devin was a player who could somehow use her skills to get out of some of the most ridiculous situations.  Sometimes it looked like she was cutting past people in slow motion.  We could probably make a five minute video of just her breaking people's ankles.  Her play made every highlight video look 10 times better than what it really was.

Devin could rip the ball too.  She could get something on her shots, as evidenced by her unbelievable goal against Wake Forest.  Her goal was so far out, that it might actually have looked best on game film.  I couldn't believe that shot went in.  I'm so glad it did though, and not just because I wanted to win, but also because my aunt was at the game and she hates Wake Forest.

Devin also scored the match winner at South Florida when my Uncle, Cousins and their families, were at the game.  When extended family came to a game Devin scored the match winner.  She sent them home happy.  The other thing about Devin's goal against South Florida was that I captured it well on camera.  I had a small camera from my sister I took to some games and I had it at just the right position to perfectly capture Devin's goal.  I didn't follow her when she scored the goal, I just left the camera in a fixed position.

Devin's assist against DePaul on Danielle's game winner was amazing as well.  She crossed the ball from Megan Rapinoe distance (Rapinoe to Wambach) and her assist was beautiful too watch.    

Devin's first goal was memorable as well because it came against Penn State, and it was a big goal.  It came off of a volley.  I love the picture of her celebration in Clark's arms.

Devin also scored on my birthday in 2010 so that puts her in a class by herself.  I want my teams to win on my birthday, and the players who help my favorite teams win give me the best gifts.

After Seton Hall Devin got me started on Cannoli's.  They were really good.  I think her mom got them for her and she passed them around the bus and she made sure I got to try one.

My two off the field things come from road trips in 2010.  Devin couldn't figure out if we were in Pennsylvania or West Virginia when we were traveling from the airport in Pittsburgh to our game in West Virginia.  She saw a trailer park so she instantly decided that we were in West Virginia.

She was correct.

The other occasion happened at the NCAA's when we got yelled at by a hotel guest for being too loud in the hallway.  Devin was showing me pictures of her grandmothers house and telling me a story.  It was fascinating as always.  Then this guy, who was writing on a deadline, popped out of his room and complained that we were being too loud.  He had a bad attitude and he pissed me off.  He ended a Devin story prematurely and that made me mad.

More than anything I wish Devin wasn't injured and sick so she could have been around more!

Now if only I could convince her that the Giants and Yankees are no good.

As much as I like watching her play, what I will miss most about Devin is listening to her talk.  She is just fun to talk to and listen to.  I missed having her around in the 2011 spring.