Seawolves Fans

“She had a little bit of an attitude,” Spallina said. “I saw it, too, with the heart of a lion who is super competitive. Surround me with a group of kids with that attitude and that mindset, and we’re going to win a lot of games.”

The Seawolves have certainly won games, posting a combined record of 56-8 in Kennedy’s three seasons with the program, and although her future always seemed bright, the beginning of her career was rocky.

Kennedy and Spallina “butt heads” early on. Spallina, who prides himself just as much on teaching as he does on coaching, saw her potential and sought ways to bring it out. He said Kennedy didn’t always accept the style in which he went about doing so.

“That’s one of the things when you see something in a player, it’s your job as a coach and as a professional to get the best out of them,” Spallina said. “Player development is so important to us here, making a good player great.”

TEWAARATON WATCH
ALLY KENNEDY, M, SR.
She was a Tewaaraton nominee last year and an IWLCA first team All-American. She’s fourth in program history in goals (171) and seventh in points (221), not to mention her 195 draw controls ranking third all-time. She scored at least three goals in 17 of 21 games last season, and her speed is second to none.

ENEMY LINES
“Everybody else kind of hates them. I have a really high level of respect for what Joe and his staff do over there. I think their buy-in is absolutely incredible.”

“They kind of have an attitude or a swagger about them. They are fighting for every single ball like it’s their last. I think they play extremely hard.”