Thursday, September 20
Washington, D.C.
4:30 p.m.
George Washington University
vs
Rhode Island
Determination Defined
9/18/2018 2:02:00 PM | Women's Soccer, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
Tapen takes long road to starting role with women's soccer
By Eric Detweiler, GW Athletics Communications
Head coach Michelle Demko waited until the countdown to kickoff against Pacific on Aug. 16 to reveal the starting lineup to her GW women's soccer team.
It was only then, perhaps an hour before the season opener, Anna Tapen learned she'd make her first career start in net for the Buff and Blue.
After three seasons spent mostly on the bench, two major leg injuries and a down-to-the wire preseason competition, Tapen had earned it.
Looking back, the goalkeeper is glad she didn't have much time to overthink the news.
"I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to feel, but I felt really ready for it," said Tapen, who blanked the Tigers 1-0 for her first career victory. "I just tried not to think about all the things that had happened and just focus on the task at hand and focus on the game."
Tapen's perseverance has paid off. After entering the season with two career saves, the graduate student from Virginia has proven up to the challenge of the starting job.
Tapen enters Thursday's Atlantic 10 opener against Rhode Island at GW Soccer Field on the Mount Vernon Campus ranked among the conference's best in almost every goalkeeping category. She's piled up 48 saves and allowed just eight goals in as many games, taking full advantage of her opportunity to replace three-time All A-10 keeper Miranda Horn.
"Anna's been amazing," redshirt junior defender Megan McCormick said. "She's totally stepped up, especially with the way she talks all the time and leads everyone on the field. It's like we've picked right up where we left off with Miranda."
Tapen's determination was tested time and again on the way to the starting lineup.
Before coming to GW, Tapen's worst injury was a broken wrist in third grade. She wasn't used to watching from the sidelines.
Tapen's resolve-testing journey with the Colonials began with a torn labrum in her right hip in her first fall on campus in 2015. After surgery and a months-long rehab process, she returned to action as a sophomore as Horn's back-up.
She saw action in three games in 2016 and headed into the offseason optimistic about her chances to challenge for a bigger role.
The plan hit a snag when Tapen went down the following spring with a torn adductor muscle in her right thigh. The injury, which is common for athletes who have undergone hip surgery, flared up again just before the 2017 season and ultimately kept her out of action for the whole campaign.
"Basically, the treatment for it is rest," Tapen said. "I couldn't do anything – no practicing, nothing. Especially after the second time, it was like 'I don't know what's going to happen here.'"
All the while, Tapen did her best to stay active and involved, whether that was shouting out instructions to the defense from the bench or offering her advice to Horn before and after games.
"Anna was always super focused," McCormick said. "Even if she wasn't able to practice, she was listening or giving feedback or making sure she was learning in any way that she could. There was never any part of us that was worried that she wasn't going to be prepared to step on the field."
Tapen's outlook brightened after receiving PRP therapy to stimulate healing in her ailing right leg. She avoided another surgery and reported for spring practice ready to prove herself healthy and contend for a starting spot in her final collegiate season.
After taking over in April, Demko brought in each Colonial one-by-one to discuss goals for the coming season. Tapen cut to the chase in her meeting: "I want to be No. 1."
Demko and assistant coach Zak Davis made no promises, though. They challenged Tapen to win the job, a process that started over the summer when she dove into her individually tailored practice plan at a park near her family's home.
The individual workouts were designed to get her prepared to play a full season without pushing her too hard too fast. She particularly focused on building back her leg strength for goal kicks and dropkicks.
Once preseason arrived, the staff met after each practice to discuss the progress of the roster.
Some days, Tapen was the unanimous No. 1 goalkeeper. Other times, she was not. The coaches carefully studied all three keepers on the roster and waited until the day of the opener to reveal their final choice.
"We were all able to push each other to be better and really make it a competition," Tapen said. "I don't think that anything was handed to me. I really had to go out and earn it."
Demko didn't take the decision lightly. The first-year coach was impressed with Tapen's poised approach that belied her lack of game experience. The keeper set herself apart with her communication on the field, chemistry with a veteran defense and willingness to make adjustments.
"It just came down to a consistency factor," Demko said. "I think just in terms of her commitment level to wanting to be No. 1, she's definitely done the things she needed to do to back that goal up. Her work rate and her intensity at practice, I think, really speak volumes to her want for her final year to be as big as it can be for her."
With each passing game, Tapen is feeling more comfortable in net. She won her first four starts before hanging tough in net with a career-high eight saves in a 1-0 loss to nationally ranked Georgetown on Aug. 30.
Perhaps her best performance came at Maryland on Sept. 9 when she came up with six saves, including several difficult stops, to stymie the Terrapins for 110 minutes in a scoreless draw.
"Each game, you see something new that shows she's getting better and better and better," Davis said. "There's always going to be highs and lows, but she's had a ton more highs than the lows."
Now, Tapen, who earned her Accounting degree in just three years and is working towards a master's degree, hopes to carry that momentum into her first run through A-10 play as starter and closing stretch as a Colonial. After the winding road to this chance, she plans to continue savoring every minute of it.
"I'm not going to lie," Tapen said. "Coming back after all that time, I was a little overwhelmed, at first, trying to figure everything out again, but once I got back and playing and realizing how much fun it is to play and really have an impact, it's been awesome."
Head coach Michelle Demko waited until the countdown to kickoff against Pacific on Aug. 16 to reveal the starting lineup to her GW women's soccer team.
It was only then, perhaps an hour before the season opener, Anna Tapen learned she'd make her first career start in net for the Buff and Blue.
After three seasons spent mostly on the bench, two major leg injuries and a down-to-the wire preseason competition, Tapen had earned it.
Looking back, the goalkeeper is glad she didn't have much time to overthink the news.
"I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to feel, but I felt really ready for it," said Tapen, who blanked the Tigers 1-0 for her first career victory. "I just tried not to think about all the things that had happened and just focus on the task at hand and focus on the game."
Tapen's perseverance has paid off. After entering the season with two career saves, the graduate student from Virginia has proven up to the challenge of the starting job.
Tapen enters Thursday's Atlantic 10 opener against Rhode Island at GW Soccer Field on the Mount Vernon Campus ranked among the conference's best in almost every goalkeeping category. She's piled up 48 saves and allowed just eight goals in as many games, taking full advantage of her opportunity to replace three-time All A-10 keeper Miranda Horn.
"Anna's been amazing," redshirt junior defender Megan McCormick said. "She's totally stepped up, especially with the way she talks all the time and leads everyone on the field. It's like we've picked right up where we left off with Miranda."
Tapen's determination was tested time and again on the way to the starting lineup.
Before coming to GW, Tapen's worst injury was a broken wrist in third grade. She wasn't used to watching from the sidelines.
Tapen's resolve-testing journey with the Colonials began with a torn labrum in her right hip in her first fall on campus in 2015. After surgery and a months-long rehab process, she returned to action as a sophomore as Horn's back-up.
She saw action in three games in 2016 and headed into the offseason optimistic about her chances to challenge for a bigger role.
The plan hit a snag when Tapen went down the following spring with a torn adductor muscle in her right thigh. The injury, which is common for athletes who have undergone hip surgery, flared up again just before the 2017 season and ultimately kept her out of action for the whole campaign.
"Basically, the treatment for it is rest," Tapen said. "I couldn't do anything – no practicing, nothing. Especially after the second time, it was like 'I don't know what's going to happen here.'"
All the while, Tapen did her best to stay active and involved, whether that was shouting out instructions to the defense from the bench or offering her advice to Horn before and after games.
"Anna was always super focused," McCormick said. "Even if she wasn't able to practice, she was listening or giving feedback or making sure she was learning in any way that she could. There was never any part of us that was worried that she wasn't going to be prepared to step on the field."
Tapen's outlook brightened after receiving PRP therapy to stimulate healing in her ailing right leg. She avoided another surgery and reported for spring practice ready to prove herself healthy and contend for a starting spot in her final collegiate season.
After taking over in April, Demko brought in each Colonial one-by-one to discuss goals for the coming season. Tapen cut to the chase in her meeting: "I want to be No. 1."
Demko and assistant coach Zak Davis made no promises, though. They challenged Tapen to win the job, a process that started over the summer when she dove into her individually tailored practice plan at a park near her family's home.
The individual workouts were designed to get her prepared to play a full season without pushing her too hard too fast. She particularly focused on building back her leg strength for goal kicks and dropkicks.
Once preseason arrived, the staff met after each practice to discuss the progress of the roster.
Some days, Tapen was the unanimous No. 1 goalkeeper. Other times, she was not. The coaches carefully studied all three keepers on the roster and waited until the day of the opener to reveal their final choice.
"We were all able to push each other to be better and really make it a competition," Tapen said. "I don't think that anything was handed to me. I really had to go out and earn it."
Demko didn't take the decision lightly. The first-year coach was impressed with Tapen's poised approach that belied her lack of game experience. The keeper set herself apart with her communication on the field, chemistry with a veteran defense and willingness to make adjustments.
"It just came down to a consistency factor," Demko said. "I think just in terms of her commitment level to wanting to be No. 1, she's definitely done the things she needed to do to back that goal up. Her work rate and her intensity at practice, I think, really speak volumes to her want for her final year to be as big as it can be for her."
With each passing game, Tapen is feeling more comfortable in net. She won her first four starts before hanging tough in net with a career-high eight saves in a 1-0 loss to nationally ranked Georgetown on Aug. 30.
Perhaps her best performance came at Maryland on Sept. 9 when she came up with six saves, including several difficult stops, to stymie the Terrapins for 110 minutes in a scoreless draw.
"Each game, you see something new that shows she's getting better and better and better," Davis said. "There's always going to be highs and lows, but she's had a ton more highs than the lows."
Now, Tapen, who earned her Accounting degree in just three years and is working towards a master's degree, hopes to carry that momentum into her first run through A-10 play as starter and closing stretch as a Colonial. After the winding road to this chance, she plans to continue savoring every minute of it.
"I'm not going to lie," Tapen said. "Coming back after all that time, I was a little overwhelmed, at first, trying to figure everything out again, but once I got back and playing and realizing how much fun it is to play and really have an impact, it's been awesome."
Players Mentioned
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Soccer
Defense
/ Women's Soccer
Goalkeeper
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