Missing a familiar face

By: Allison Staab
Posted In: Sports

Brother Reynolds Field looks a little bit different this year as women’s soccer players and fans ease into a new season. Huddled on the shiny, aluminum bleachers, well equipped in scarves and with steaming hot beverages in hand, the view across the field just isn’t the same.

After 8 years as the anchor of the women’s soccer and softball programs, head coach Lisa Yenush has stepped down. Announced in May, Yenush accepted an administrative promotion leading her to put her whistle on the shelf after compiling respective records of 59-89-10 in soccer, 142-163 in softball, and single appearances in both sports conference championship games.

In a Salve press release online Yenush said that she would truly miss coaching but believed that the move was right for her career and the athletic department. In the same release, Athletic Director Del Malloy supported Yenush saying that he was very excited to see her abilities fully concentrated on her new position as Associate Athletic Director.

However, not all eyes see it exactly the same way. Junior catcher Katie Vieira, who played softball for two seasons under Yenush, misses the coach she knew so well. “It’s hard not to see her at practice everyday, but I still know that I can stop by her office anytime, even if it’s just to talk” and that’s surely the way that Yenush wants it.

Vieira also commented on Yenush’s replacement, Kerri Scroope, who was profiled in this months Mosaic, “All of the girls really like her,” Vieira said. “They couldn’t have found a better person for the job.” Scroope is now coaching women’s soccer and softball while performing her duties as Assistant Facilities Director but she isn’t worried about the shoes to she has to fill. “When any new coach takes over a program there are always changes,” Scroope said. “But I think Coach Yenush has done a great job for the past 8 years, and we both have very similar beliefs.”

Yenush will continue to function as Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) and as Compliance Coordinator this fall alongside her new title of Associate Athletic Director. And while the whistles begin to blow again and the familiar thud of cleat against ball echoes from Brother Reynolds Field, you probably won’t be able to find Yenush anywhere else. Still present at most of the home games, fans can relish in the fact that the familiar face of a well-loved coach is still there, standing right beside them and cheering just as hard.