Nov. 3, 2015
By Jerome Boettcher
Danae O’Halloran and Kacy Scarpa arrived on campus through different connections and due to different reasons.
But from the first day of preseason camp back in August, the ACC transfers have been united and vital in helping turn around the Vanderbilt soccer program. Their impact continues to prove instrumental as the Commodores extended their season and advanced to play No. 1 seed Florida in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament at 5 p.m. on Wednesday in Orange Beach, Ala., on the SEC Network.
“In terms of what they have brought and what we have needed it has been incredibly helpful,” head coach Darren Ambrose said. “It has helped establish some standards of behavior and performance that we’re looking for. Without them, I look at it, as we would not be as deep this year. There is no question they’ve come in and contributed right away when we needed them to.”
The roommates have started every game this year except for one as Scarpa missed the Florida game on Sept. 25 due to a concussion. Both have played integral roles, especially on defense, for a team that has won its most games (nine) since 2009, posted six shutouts, knocked off two ranked teams and allowed its fewest goals in a season in nine years.
At right back on defense, Danae O’Halloran provides steady play and bounds of energy. Scarpa’s dependable presence at the crucial holding midfielder spot has been a welcome sight. She is also a threat to create on offense. Such was the case on Monday against Georgia when she notched her first Vanderbilt assist. Her 40-yard pass on a counter attack set up Simone Charley’s first-half goal.
O’Halloran and Scarpa were familiar with each other before they transferred. O’Halloran spent the last two years at North Carolina and Scarpa was at Florida State the last three seasons, winning a national championship with the Seminoles in 2014. Scarpa’s sister, Jessie, is a sophomore forward at UNC and played with O’Halloran last year.
O’Halloran and Scarpa have bonded and gained a connection through the transition of adjusting to a new team and a new school.
“We were clueless when we got here. We didn’t know where anything was,” O’Halloran said, laughing. “It definitely helped having Kacy go through it with me. We have become really close.”
For O’Halloran, the decision to transfer boiled down to finding a better environment. After redshirting in 2013, she played in all 20 games and made two starts last year for a North Carolina team that won a share of the ACC crown with Florida State and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
During the spring season, she was starting for the Tar Heels so playing time wasn’t an issue. The medicine, health and society major wanted a change in culture and academics and liked the idea of being part of a program trying to rebuild.
She knew Vanderbilt assistant coach Ken Masuhr, who was friends with O’Halloran’s high school coach. He was also from the same hometown as O’Halloran – Toms River, N.J. – and had recruited her when he was an assistant at Monmouth.
She got on the phone with Masuhr and Ambrose and was excited about the possibilities  so much so that she committed before even visiting Vanderbilt or Nashville. Her visit confirmed her feelings that Vanderbilt was the school for her as in addition to meeting with Ambrose and Masuhr, she talked with senior administrator Lori Alexander, assistant director of academic support Christy Hogan and was guided around by sophomore midfielder Lydia Simmons.
“It was a pretty risky move – I had never been to Nashville,” O’Halloran said. “Talking to (the coaches) on the phone it just seemed like the perfect fit for me academically, athletically. I was really excited and couldn’t wait to get down here. Everyone who is on staff with our team is so committed to making this program the best it can be. You could really tell that they wanted to change things and make a huge difference here. I just felt so comfortable here.”
For Scarpa, also a medicine, health and society major, she wanted more from both the soccer element and academics component. In addition to being a three-time member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll and Dean’s List at Florida State, she was also awarded the prestigious NCAA Elite 89 Award, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average competing at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 89 championships.
After redshirting in 2012, she had been used sparingly off the bench the last two years at Florida State. She was ready for a change and Vanderbilt fit the bill.
“I wanted it be a move for both, not just soccer, not just academics,” she said. “It was more of a personal decision in the fact that (Florida State) wasn’t all that I wanted. The national championship was obviously something I’ll never take for granted, that experience, having that opportunity. But I knew personally that I wanted something more out of my collegiate soccer career.”
Scarpa gave Vanderbilt a call over Christmas break. But no one initially picked up the phone. The Commodores were still in the process of hiring a head coach.
Then one day while she was rehabbing from calf surgery in the Florida State athletic training room, she got a huge vote of confidence from someone who knew the program. FSU standout and teammate Cheyna Williams played at Vanderbilt from 2012-13. She saw Scarpa in the training room and asked her if she had thought about Vanderbilt. Williams spoke highly of the school and her Vanderbilt teammates and suggested to Scarpa to contact Ambrose, who had just been hired the day before.
Scarpa’s father called Vanderbilt, Ambrose answered, and she visited campus and immediately gelled with members of the team.
“This was a school I knew the least about,” said Scarpa, who hails from Lakeland, Fla. “I didn’t know the coach. I had no prior relationship to Darren or Ken. I didn’t know any of the players personally. I didn’t know anyone from my hometown that was at that school. My decision came from the opportunity that I saw here and the trust I had in Cheyna and what she was telling me about the girls on the team. When I was on the visit, everything I saw from the team was great. They were super friendly. It definitely matched.”
Both O’Halloran and Scarpa came in excited about the opportunity to compete for playing time and to possibly start. But they quickly realized that they would have to compete, and that this group of Commodores had big goals and were determined to work to achieve them.
After a couple days of practice during preseason camp in August, O’Halloran told Ambrose that she didn’t feel at the time she had ever worked that hard at North Carolina.
“The girls really shocked me at how much they want to be successful and how much they want to win,” O’Halloran said. “I was not expecting that mindset at first, which is kind of weird that I wasn’t thinking they would be as determined as they are. But they really shocked me in a good way. These girls work their butts off and I’m excited to be a part of this.”
Added Scarpa, who was just months removed from winning a national championship: “This team is one of the most hard-working teams I’ve ever been on. The work ethic was definitely already there.”
As the season continues into November, O’Halloran and Scarpa continue to consider themselves lucky to be at Vanderbilt and a part of team that has exceeded expectations each time out.
O’Halloran has two years of eligibility left, while Scarpa will finish out her career next fall. For now, though, the two close friends are enjoying a ride that has proved beneficial for both them and the team.
“I don’t think this time last year I thought that finding a school I was truly happy at was possible,” Scarpa said. “That sounds really morbid, but I didn’t know if the right fit was out there, if I could find the soccer and the school part. But I did. I finally feel like I’ve found my perfect college atmosphere and school.”
