February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Lindsey Wilson of Columbia, Ky., won its first NAIA women’s soccer championship last month, with McGuinness earning tournament Most Valuable Player honors. At this time in 2002, the prospect of Wilson celebrating such an achievement wasn’t far-fetched. But the idea that McGuinness, a senior from Dundalk, would carry the team to victory with her stellar play in goal didn’t register on anyone’s radar.
McGuinness, who grew up first in the Blackrock section of Dundalk, then in Heynestown, had been a defensive stalwart for Ireland’s Under-16 and Under-18 international squads. After earning her leaving cert at St. Mary’s College in Dundalk, she took a year off to save some money. The prospect of attending school in America appealed to her and Lindsey Wilson came to her attention as a good friend of hers had a friend who had played soccer there. The fact that the school had a winning tradition and was, in her words, “not a Mickey Mouse program,” also figured prominently.
In fact, the competition was tougher than she expected to find, which she termed “a good surprise.” Her early years with the Blue Raiders were spent trying to crack the starting 11, which featured a strong mixture of international players. During spring practice between her sophomore and junior seasons, the team was depleted when the regular keeper came down with an ACL injury and the backup didn’t return for the spring semester.
“It started off as a joke,” said McGuinness, who volunteered to pick up the slack. “I told Drew Burwash [then the assistant coach] that I’d better get some gloves. But never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d stay there.”
In their first year with McGuinness in goal, the Blue Raiders advanced to the NAIA finals, where they lost in the seventh overtime period to Westmont College, which knocked in a rebound for a 2-1 victory. The team rededicated itself and made a trip to California in September, where they tied Azusa Pacific, 1-1, and defeated Point Loma Nazarene, 4-2.
“Winning the championship this year had always been our main focus,” McGuinness said. “Especially after last year, losing in the seventh overtime. Our expectations were high this year and we’d been ranked first all year. [The California] trip helped. Playing against those schools is always tough. They’re so athletic and playing on their field was a good experience. Their turf is so fast.”
Wilson entered the NAIA event as Mid-South Conference champion, with a 15-0-4 record. After two easy regional victories, they traveled to Santa Barbara, Calif., for the national tournament, where they vanquished Westmont, 1-0, with McGuinness making two saves. They then advanced past Lee University and Graceland College, but needed to prevail on penalty kicks in both matches, which ended in scoreless ties. McGuinness’s relative inexperience in goal could have worked against her in these situations.
“I’d never actually had a penalty kick on me,” McGuinness said. “Except for one that a girl had taken and gone wide. I knew that wasn’t going to happen with these girls.”
McGuinness stopped the sixth shot directed at her by Lee on a kick save and managed a diving save on Graceland’s fifth attempt, while her teammates were successfully nailing all their chances.
“It’s really hard to describe the feeling,” McGuinness said of having to defend against the imminent onslaught of free kicks, but she likened it to an adrenaline rush. She also felt that she couldn’t let her teammates down after they had busted themselves for 120 minutes.
The championship victory over Concordia of Oregon was less stressful. McGuinness was called upon to stop one shot on goal en route to Wilson’s 2-0 win.
For the record, McGuinness played every minute of Wilson’s season, allowing just 12 goals, while recording 48 saves, 11 of which came in the NAIA tournament. She earned 16 shutouts. She ended her college career without being scored upon in her final 893 minutes.
McGuinness is on schedule to graduate in the spring with a degree in physical education/health. Where she will settle thereafter is anyone’s guess.
“If I get a job here in the States, that would be super,” McGuinness said. “I’ve enjoyed my time here, although we’re in a very rural part of Kentucky. I wouldn’t mind staying in a bigger city.”