A Born Goal Scorer
10/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
By Lauren Shear
As a kid growing up in Sea Girt, New Jersey, scoring goals always came easily for George Washington senior MacKenzie Cowley. Starting soccer at age five, she was naturally drawn to the net the moment she stepped on the field.
"You can tell when you put a little kid on the field what type of soccer player they're going to be," said Cowley. "Both of my brothers would sit back and guard the goal â€" I was on the complete opposite side trying to score."
Like most youngsters when they first start playing, MacKenzie mainly enjoyed running up and down the field with her teammates. It wasn't until she started scoring goals every game that she realized the impact she could really have on the pitch.
"I've always had coaches that really supported me, and would say things like, 'You're great and we need to get you the ball.' This would get in my head and give me the confidence to play to the best of my ability. I really do believe it's all about feeling confident in yourself and having other people believe in you to make you the best that you can be."
Cowley carried this confidence in her game all the way to high school, but almost ended her soccer career before the start of her freshman year to pursue another sport - lacrosse. Knowing it was going to be too difficult to play two sports at the same time, she needed to make a decision.
"I had to choose, do I want to go and stick with soccer or do I try lacrosse because I kind of picked it up and as an athlete was pretty good at it. I was torn between the two. And then I was in the car with my mom and she said, 'just say the sport that comes to your mind first, lacrosse or soccer,' and soccer just came out. I never picked up my lacrosse stick again after that. I was like, 'yup, I'm sticking with it,' and I'm really happy that I did."
At Red Bank Catholic High School, Cowley went on to have a standout playing career, leading the Shore Conference in scoring her junior and senior seasons. She also helped her team to New Jersey State and Shore Conference Championships. Cowley's playing prowess caught the attention of many college coaches, including GW women's soccer head coach, Sarah Barnes.
"I don't think I ever went to a game during the recruiting process, before she committed or after, where she didn't score a goal for her club team," said Barnes. "Goal scorers are hard to come by, and so I think anytime as a coach that you have the opportunity to bring a goal scorer on board you want to do that. I knew right away when I saw her that I wanted her to come to GW."
Freshman year at GW posed new challenges for the New Jersey native. Joining a team of seasoned players, Cowley saw less action on the field than she was used to.
"I feel like freshman year for everyone is really an adjustment because you come from your club team or your high school team where you're the best and playing 90 minutes, and then you come to college," said Cowley. "I had to make sure that I was still confident in myself even though I wasn't playing the whole game. When I went in, I had to make as much of an impact as I could."
Cowley used this desire for more minutes to elevate her game from season to season. She strove to become a more consistent and versatile player and spent extra time watching video to refine her playing style.
"If you look at the statistics, you can see that she's scored more goals each year, and I think that's because she's becoming more committed to investing in her game," said Barnes. "It took her some time to really figure out that she could be really dangerous and really effective at this level."
This scoring mentality continues to shine through Cowley's senior season, where she boasts a team best 19 points (9g, 1a) and has four game winners on the year.
"She is a goal scorer," said co-captain Lina Proska. "I think that's a really important quality to have, and not everybody does. The hardest part is that you get not that many opportunities in front of the goal. You have to be able to be consistent and put the ball away whenever you get in those situations because they only happen once or twice in a game. There are some people out there that are just naturally so good at scoring, and that's just exactly who MacKenzie is."
When the Colonials faced then-No. 17 Arkansas earlier this season, it was Cowley's header into the top left half of the net that lifted GW to a 1-0 win. In front of an energetic crowd of 512, the Colonials handed the Razorbacks their first loss of the year to match a program-best start to the season with six consecutive wins. The victory marked GW's first win over a nationally-ranked team since the 1996 squad downed No. 10 Virginia.
"I think when you're a goal scorer, you need to have that confidence that every time you step out there, you believe you can score a goal," said Barnes. "You have to be able to miss several times and even be in a little bit of a slump, but be able to come back the next time and not worry too much about not pressuring yourself. Kenz just sort of has a nose for the goal. It's a weird thing to say, but she gets in spots better than anyone else on our team, which is why she's our leading goal scorer."
As a senior and captain, Cowley's role on the team has shifted to more of a leadership position. Along with co-captain Lina Proska, the duo leads by example and helps to set the tempo of the game on the field.
"I think she definitely carries a big load for the team," said Barnes. "She knows that she has to go out and perform for our team to be successful. That doesn't always mean with a goal. She's been more demanding, she's been tougher, and held her teammates more accountable. I think that her desire to achieve more and to help this program get to a higher level has made her a little more demanding â€" and I think that's a really great thing for our team."
As her final collegiate season begins to wind down, Cowley has her eyes set on the future. In May she will graduate with a degree in communication, and with a flurry of post-grad plans and job opportunities in the works, she continues to keep the possibility of playing soccer after graduation in the forefront of her mind.
"You only get one time in your life to play soccer after college, there's really no other time," said Barnes. "I think it's really going to come down to how badly she wants it. If it's something that she really wants to do, there's no question in my mind that she's capable of playing."
