Junior midfielder Caroline Vanderpool breathed heavily after running wind-sprints in an LSU soccer practice.
Instead of participating in preseason conditioning with the rest of the team, Vanderpool spent her summer playing on the Canadian team in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship held in Moscow.
Vanderpool said most people’s stereotype of Russia being a “devastated and ugly place” is not accurate.
“Actually it was really nice,” Vanderpool said. “It’s a city with a lot of history, nice architecture and a lot of stuff to go visit.”
The Montreal native said she was able to see many tourist attractions including St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Kremlin and Red Square during her two-week stay.
“St. Basil’s Cathedral looks a lot like something out of Candyland,” Vanderpool said. “My favorite place was St. Petersburg because of its heritage. We went to see a huge, huge museum in an old palace.”
The U-20 tournament is structured much like World Cup play. Canada (1-2) failed to finish in the top 2 of Group B, shutting Finland out 2-0 but losing 3-2 to Nigeria and 1-0 to runner-up China. Korea defeated the Chinese 5-0 to capture the world title Sept. 3.
Vanderpool played defender for the Canadians, but said she prefers the midfield position.
“The defense gets the blame when goals are scored,” Vanderpool said. “I would rather play in the midfield because you can attack more. It’s a lot more work in the midfield, but I get to score goals.”
After not being recruited by a Canadian university to play soccer, Vanderpool said she found LSU almost by accident.
“I wanted to go somewhere without any snow,” Vanderpool said. “To be recruited in Canada, you have to be on national teams, and at the time I wasn’t. We started talking to universities, and I fell in love with LSU.”
Although Vanderpool said she misses the fast-pace environment of Montreal, she has no regrets about coming to LSU.
“Coming from Canada to the South is a big change because of things like the people and the weather,” Vanderpool said. “The people are more polite and nice.”
Vanderpool said her favorite aspect of Southern culture is the different accents.
“I love the accents down here,” Vanderpool said. “The Southern drawl is really cute. I get laughed at down here because I say “eh,” and then I go back to Canada, and I say “ya’ll.”
LSU coach Brian Lee said playing at the international level has positively impacted Vanderpool.
“At the international level, your decision making has to be a little quicker,” Lee said. “Her confidence, her composure on the ball, her game savvy…and her understanding the ebb and flow of the game has all improved.”
Lee said while Vanderpool was one of LSU’s best players from last season, she is also the most improved.
“She has made that step to become among the SEC’s elite players,” Lee said. “There are about 10 players in the SEC that can start for the Canadian or US national teams. They had four kids play every minute, and she was one of them.”
Vanderpool has been missing from the line-up in two of LSU’s three losses. She returned from Moscow after the Tigers’ season-opening 2-0 loss to Southern Methodist University. The midfielder missed a 2-0 defeat by Navy on Friday after receiving a red card for arguing with the officials in a 6-1 win against the University of Houston.
Senior forward Joleen Phillips said LSU missed Vanderpool’s physical play against Navy.
“Her physical presence is phenomenal,” Phillips said. “Navy came out and dominated us physically, and we weren’t used to that. [Vanderpool] is winning all kinds of balls in the center of the midfield, and has been able to get it to the forwards quickly. She is more focused this year.”
Vanderpool said the international experience has made her a smarter player.
“I am proud of myself for the hard work I did,” Vanderpool said. “Hopefully I can bring some of this experience back to the team because we only have a few upperclassmen. I don’t know if I would play on the national team again because it interrupts the LSU season and my schoolwork. I want to focus on this LSU squad for the next couple of years.”
—–Contact Matt Vines at [email protected]