Ron Snyder, The Examiner
2006-09-23 09:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

BALTIMORE -

Navy’s women’s soccer team is in the early stages of what could be a magical season.

With a 3-1 win over Columbia last Sunday, the Midshipmen improved to 8-0 for the first time in school history. The closest Navy came to this kind of start before came in 2003, when the team won its first seven game before finishing the season 17-5-1 and advancing to its first NCAA tournament.

Senior Meggie Curran was just a plebe on that team. While she is now one of Navy’s leaders on the field, the 2003 squad belonged to Stacy Finley, arguably one of the greatest women’s soccer players ever to step on the field for Navy. By the time she graduated, Finley was tops on Navy’s all-time points list (126) and goals (51), while also holding the single-season records for goals (19) and assists (11).

Even more important to those who played with her was her desire to be a team player who always tried to make her teammates better. She would have loved the opportunity to root for Curran, who was one of her best friends, and the rest of the Midshipmen on this season’s team.

Unfortunately, Finley will never get that chance. She passed away in March 2005 from encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. She was just 22.

Looking for the proper way to honor Finley’s memory last fall, Navy coach Carin Gabarra decided not to retire her jersey No. 14. Instead, she decided to choose a worthy player to wear Finley’s number each game. That honor went to Curran, who considered Finley to be like a “big sister” to her.

“Stacy was so humble, she didn’t worry about all the accolades,” Curran said. “She wouldn’t have wanted her jersey to be retired.”

Curran said she is honored to wear Finley’s number, something which allows her to keep Finley’s memory alive every time she steps on the field.

“My class is the last one to have played with Stacy,” Curran said. “Now, her legacy will never die. Players will always know about her — something that might not happen if her jersey was just hanging on a wall.”

Curran is doing an excellent job of leaving her own mark at the service academy. The Silver Spring native, who played prep ball at Good Counsel, is currently Navy’s all-time leader in assists, with 31, to go with 29 career goals.

Curran is one 12 Navy players on this year’s roster with at least one goal and one of 18 who have registered at least a point. The team includes a mix of veterans and a freshman class of seven players considered tops among Patriot League schools, according to Soccer Buzz Magazine. This combination has helped Navy, which entered the week as one of seven unbeaten schools, climb to seventh in this week’ National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) mid-Atlantic region poll. The ranking is the Midshipmen’s highest since 2003.

Curran believes that this year’s Navy team may be even better than that magical squad from three years ago.

“The difference this year is I think we have more depth,” Curran said. “That team [in 2003] only had four or five really good players. Teams this year just can’t run with us for 90 minutes. This team is just so close both on and off the field.”

Ron Snyder is a staff writer with The Examiner. He can be reached at rsnyder@baltimoreexaminer.com.