The BMCC women’s soccer team finished its 2009 season with a 12-4 record. But by far more meaningful measures, the team had a championship season.
For the first time in its history, the team received the Sportsmanship Award from the New York Metro Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Associations (NYMISOA). “Although we won only one game, we never lost by more than a single goal—and that was often with fewer players on the field than our opponents,” says goalie Jodi Dacosta, a video arts technology major in her final semester at BMCC.
While a soccer team normally fields 11 players, the BMCC squad shrank steadily over the course of the season for various reasons. “As a result, we often had only 10 players on the field and no reserves,” Dacosta adds. “That put us at a disadvantage, but we never gave up.”
“Soccer is my life”
Like most of her teammates, the Jamaican-born Dacosta is, by her own account, a soccer fanatic. “I played in high school and, to be honest, I wouldn’t have gone to a college where I didn’t have the opportunity to play,” she says. “When I’m on the field, I forget whatever worries I have and just focus on the game. Soccer is my life.”
Soccer has also had a positive impact on her academic performance. “Our coach, Kenichi (Keni) Yatsuhashi, has told us that in order to stay on the team, we have to maintain good grades,” Dacosta says. “He encourages us to use tutoring and other resources and emphasizes that academic performance comes first.”
Speaking the language of soccer
Teammate Oumou Toure agrees. “Coach Keni is always reminding us that soccer alone won’t get us into the school of our choice. We also need a good GPA.” According to Toure, a fourth-semester liberal arts major who plays offensive midfield, what set the team apart last season was “that we always played with heart and passion—and that we were so connected, both on and off the field.”
Born and raised in the West African nation of Mali, Toure recalls the challenges she faced when she first arrived in New York, unable to make herself clearly understood in English.
“Soccer became my way of communicating,” she says. “I’d play in games with Spanish-speaking kids and it didn’t matter that we couldn’t understand what each other was saying. When you’re on the field, you don’t need words to communicate.” After graduating, Toure hopes to go on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in international relations and play Division 1 soccer.
“I’m all about soccer,” she says. “When I’m not playing, I’m dreaming about it.”
