D’Agnelli brings passionate talent to the playing field

By: Sarah Tesorero
Posted In: Sports

Charging down the field, No. 24 on the Salve Seahawks races after the soccer ball, with a bright blonde ponytail bobbing at the top of her head. With a leap in the air and some concentrated footwork, she steals the ball away from a member of the Endicott Power Gulls and begins the trek to the goal line. D’Agnelli, 21, a junior at Salve, is captain of the women’s soccer team, and although her high profile position at the university leaves her well known, there’s a softer side to the girl who shows brute force when on the playing field.

D’Agnelli’s mother, Lynne, has a special appreciation for watching her daughter in action on the field, recalling how D’Agnelli’s entrance to the world was far from a smooth beginning. Born with a disorder of the intestines, where the large intestines and the small intestines were attached together, D’Agnelli had emergency surgery after her gastrointestinal tract became dangerously inflamed. D’Agnelli still bears a four- inch scar stretching out from her belly button across her stomach.

“Kerrin had to have a serious operation when she was a baby, and the doctor’s said there was no way she could make it…Watching her play, and the simple fact that she can run, and walk, just makes me happy,” recalls Lynne appreciatively. Her favorite part is “just watching her energy – when I look at her, I look at her at five years old, and I can see her enthusiasm for the game, and how it developed as she developed,” says Lynne.

With her miraculous recovery behind her, sports have dominated D’Agnelli’s life since birth.

“[Her father]’s first remark on seeing his baby girl was ‘Look at the skates on those feet’,” recalls Lynne D’Agnelli, Kerrin’s mother. “She was all feet, just skinny legs and all feet,” she continues with a laugh.

D’Agnelli’s passion for sports began early. She kicked her first soccer ball at age five, playing for her town’s Peewee soccer team, the Blue Lightning. D’Agnelli immediately picked up a love for the game, mainly because all of her friends played along with her. Lynne recalls her coming home from school after being the only girl playing soccer with the boys at recess, staining all of her good pants. “Even at age five, she was always making a beeline to the goal,” Lynne says.

“She learned very young and really enjoyed the sport, and had fun with it, which is why I think she’s become such a dedicated team player,” says her father. “She learned the discipline that went with the sport, but she also always had that enthusiasm of a kid who knew her parents enjoyed watching her play.”

Kerrin comes from a family of sports enthusiasts. Her father Ernie played football while studying at U-Mass Amherst, and is now a physical education teacher at Maimonides private school in Brookline, MA. Because of his own involvement, he always encouraged his daughters to play sports.

Kristin, Kerrin’s older sister, played intramural soccer until she was sidelined with shin splints in the seventh grad. Kerrin was next in line, but her younger sister Lindsay followed Kerrin’s lead with a fury. Kerrin recalls, “[Lindsay and I] used to play with our father outside in the front yard, every night in the summertime. One of our goals was between a telephone pole and a fire hydrant, so whenever we got one in, we’d have to chase the ball into the street…but my father would never let us win.”

Her father’s discipline and instruction helped drive D’Agnelli passion for soccer. “I was the only second grader who was picked to play on the travel team,” says D’Agnelli. By sixth grade, she was part of a club soccer team, the Black Magic, based in Massachusetts, which she continues to actively participate on.

In high school, D’Agnelli quickly became a star player on the soccer, softball, and basketball teams. She was a four-year varsity starter for basketball and soccer, and a three-year varsity starter for softball. Freshmen weren’t eligible for varsity softball D’Agnelli’s freshman year, but D’Agnelli is sure she would have made the team.

“I’m still mad at the coach about that…I could have had 12 varsity letters instead of 11,” says D’Agnelli.

Overall, D’Agnelli recalls her greatest soccer achievement was during her senior year of high school when she received the honor of being first team All State, as well as being voted Top Outstanding Female Athlete in her class.

By her junior year distinguished colleges and universities began to recruit her, including College of the Holy Cross, Stonehill College, Fairfield University, Merrimack College, and Salve Regina University. Women’s Head Soccer Coach at Salve Regina, Lisa Yenush, remembers D’Agnelli as a stand out.

“She always wanted the ball. She was a central player on her team and her communication skills and ability to direct traffic were easy to recognize. She had a knack for making other people around her better,” says Yenush.

Ultimately she settled on Salve Regina because the university fit her ideals better, such as the small, close-knit environment, as well as the ability to play two sports, softball as well as soccer. Also, her older sister Kristin was already a student at the university. In her freshman and sophomore years, D’Agnelli started in all 20 soccer games, as a center halfback, a position that controls the field. Her performance was noted by the coaches of the Commonwealth Coast Conference league, who selected her as one of 10 players on the first team All Conference. By junior year, D’Agnelli’s teammates chose her as one of their three co-captains.

Coach Yenush attributes D’Agnelli’s success to her talent on the field. “She has great foot skills, shooting ability, and a great knowledge of the game. Her ability to see the field and distribute the ball is very impressive…She wants to be the go to person in an intense situation, she always wants the ball on her foot,” Yenush says.

D’Agnelli excelled equally on Salve’s softball diamond, as a shortstop and second baseman for the Seahawks in her freshmen and sophomore years. However, D’Agnelli chose not to continue playing on the softball team her junior year. “I decided not to play [softball] this year so I could focus more on my soccer skills, individually and with the team…I just felt it would be beneficial to be more devoted to soccer,” explains D’Agnelli.

D’Agnelli also thought it would be best to spend more time devoted to her academics. D’Agnelli is an Administration of Justice major who wants to pursue a career in law enforcement.

With soccer as her only sport, D’Agnelli led the Seahawks to their first Commonwealth Coast Conference semi-final tournament in 10 years. The teams tied the game at 2-2, and although D’Agnelli scored a goal with a penalty kick in the final shootout, the Seahawks lost the game to the Endicott Power Gulls, 4-2. D’Agnelli earned herself a spot on the first-team All Conference again, and she was re-elected captain.

Christy Maltby, D’Agnelli’s close friend and teammate, says D’Agnelli is a strong captain. “As a captain she is straight forward. She tells you what you need to fix but she also tells you what you are doing well. She also lets the younger players know that they contribute to the team, and that they aren’t considered ‘just freshmen’,” says Maltby. Off the field, Maltby says, “Kerrin is someone who will always be there for you whenever you need someone to talk to. She listens and gives her honest opinion, and she cares about her friends and will always be there for them in any situation”

Freshman soccer player Laura McPhee agrees with Maltby. “Kerrin is a good captain because she is a natural born leader from the start. We all look up to her and respect all the things she does for the team. I have never seen Kerrin not give 110% in any game, which is really admirable,” says McPhee. “When you watch our games, you will notice Kerrin probably first. She stands out on our team and in the Conference. All in all she is just wicked nice and really approachable, and if you ever have a problem she would totally help.”

Another freshman teammate, Andrea Balser had similar thoughts, admiring D’Agnelli’s ability on the field. Balser said, “She’s an excellent player. She dominates the center of the field, always distributes the ball, and is a complete challenge to the other team.” Balser continued, “She is a great leader, constantly pushing the rest of the team to work harder.”

Former teammate and roommate Amie Muise also had a different take on D’Agnelli’s character, forming close relationships with D’Agnelli on and off of the field. “Kerrin is extremely vocal on the field, and has no problem telling one of her teammates to step it up or get in the right place,” says Muise.

“However, off the field, I feel like some of Kerrin’s strong vocal abilities are suppressed,” continues Muise, delving into a more personal perspective. “Living with Kerrin, I noticed that if she ever had a problem with one of us, she would not tell that person straight to their face what the issue was. Off the field, she is not confrontational. I don’t think this is a negative trait of hers, since Kerrin is a very kind and understanding person who is careful of others feelings. She understands that life is not 80 minutes like a soccer game. Time keeps going and she wants to keep it as carefree as possible,” says Muise.

Despite her carefree image, D’Agnelli is constantly conditioning her body, even over summer break. She runs 3-4 miles each day, practices sprints and plyometrics.

Coach Yenush has noticed D’Agnelli’s extra commitment to training, saying, “She knows what it takes to be successful at this level. Basically there is a lot you have to do as a player in the off-season in order to improve at this level. You have to lift weights, condition, and play games, and practice. I don’t need to tell her to do these things, she does them on her own, and sets expectations for her teammates to do the same.”

It is dedication like this that has helped D’Agnelli to become the strong, admired player that she is, racking up the awards, as well as organizing indoor soccer leagues and competitions. But there’s another side of D’Agnelli that only the people who know about her red cleats, and the superstition that they need to be knotted four times on each foot, could explain.

In the Natick Redmen class of 2001 senior yearbook, you can find D’Agnelli in the senior superlative section under “Person you’d most want to be stranded on a desert island with.” How does one get that title?

D’Agnelli’s multi-faceted personality can only be considered. Her friends regard her as a softer person who will do whatever she can to help anybody, while retaining a sense of humor that has them all in hysterics. Her out-of-left-field comments and random knowledge that leaves her shouting at the candidates on Jeopardy are just a few of the things that make D’Agnelli unique.

With her favorite shows including “The O.C.” and the Sunday Night Rodeo sponsored by the Professional Bull Riding Association, D’Agnelli possesses an array of tastes that range from one extreme to the next. Her CD player blasts everything from gangster rap to wholesome country music, and her walls are plastered with pictures of Abercrombie guys, and her undeniable favorite, Kobe Bryant. Sweatpants and her North Face jacket are her staple attire, but she won’t be seen without a label like her Coach bag or her Burberry hat.

Whatever extreme she chooses at the moment, D’Agnelli’s different dimensions give her a substance that can’t be seen while she’s on the playing field, but round her off in a way that her friends wouldn’t change for the world.