It’s easy to turn a college sports program around, really. All it takes is three players, and everything else will fall into place.

Thing is, as Kelly Bailie, Shana Thomas and Kristina Cristofori have proven for the Syracuse women’s soccer team this fall, those three players better be good. Damn good.

Well, maybe it’s not easy.

These three newcomers have been most responsible for SU’s turnaround from last year’s 3-11-3 record to this season’s 7-2-0 mark. While all three transferred to Syracuse for different reasons, they all came from the same source – Monroe County Community College in Rochester.

And, at least for Thomas and Bailie, they never imagined orange in their future.

In fact, Bailie was all set to play soccer at Southern Mississippi. About a month before she was supposed to leave for USM from her home in Northern Ireland, though, she discovered she didn’t receive clearance to come from overseas and play there. Then the coaches at MCC contacted Bailie.

‘Basically, what did I have to lose?’ Bailie asked.

Well, nothing. At MCC, Bailie met Thomas, who went to MCC on a whim after being unsure that she would even play soccer in college. Together, the two roommates led the Lady Tribunes to a 23-0 record and a NJCAA national championship in 2001, during Bailie’s first of two NJCAA All-American seasons.

In 2002, Thomas was also named an NJCAA All-American. In her sophomore campaign, Thomas scored 24 goals and notched six assists. Then Syracuse started inquiring about the two MCC sophomores.

‘While I was at MCC, I still insisted I was going to Southern Mississippi because I had connections down there,’ Bailie said. ‘Then at Christmas, I came to Syracuse to visit and I loved it. I was really close between the two schools and I chose here because I was excited to come play at the level we play at up here.’

Thomas didn’t decide to attend SU as quickly as Bailie did. In fact, she hid her interest in Syracuse from Bailie.

‘I wanted to do something on my own and make sure it was for me,’ Thomas said. ‘I never told Kelly I was heavily considering Syracuse. She didn’t know until I told (SU head) coach (April) Kater I was coming.’

Cristofori, though, always knew her road would end up going through Syracuse. With two older brothers, Mario and Guido, who played on SU’s men’s soccer team, Cristofori had seen plenty of SU by the time she needed to come to a decision on where to go to school.

‘I wanted to come here since I was a freshman in high school,’ Cristofori said. ‘And I had played soccer with Nina (Scalzo) and Sarah (Elnicky) so I was familiar with some of the girls on the team.’

But when it came time to move on from high school, Cristofori didn’t have the grades to play for SU, so she headed to MCC. She never had a doubt she’d end up at Syracuse.

As Cristofori proved herself in the classroom, she did on the soccer field, as well. She scored 25 goals and notched 21 assists as a freshman at MCC last year en route to being named to the NJCAA and NSCAA All-American teams.

After earning satisfactory grades, Cristofori followed Bailie and Thomas to the Orangewomen squad.

Though all three chose to attend SU on their own accord, the people surrounding their decisions influenced them. MCC assistant coach Robyn Pepicelli once played for Kater at SU.

‘They can only stay at MCC for two years,’ Pepicelli said. ‘It was just me educating them on another option where I knew they would be in good hands.’

‘Robyn, to be fair, was really good about it,’ Bailie said. ‘She loved it here, but never told me how to make my decision. She would say to me, now and then, that she didn’t want to pressure me into going to Syracuse because she was pressuring me.’

Then comes the connection through Tracey Britton – actually, two Tracey Brittons.

The two women share more than a name. They both have a middle initial A. They both played for the Rochester Ravens after a standout college career, and, most importantly, they both coach women’s college soccer.

Now, here’s the weird part: One Britton is the head coach at MCC. The other is the assistant coach at Syracuse.

‘It was kind of weird at the beginning,’ Bailie said. ‘When Tracey would call me, she would have to say, ‘This is Tracey, but not the one from MCC, Britton.”

Cristofori was equally confused.

‘It was kind of funny because they both would call the house and I’d never know which one it was,’ Cristofori said. ‘But they’re two totally different types of people, the two kinds of Tracey Britton.’

Said MCC’s Britton: ‘It gets confusing when someone doesn’t know us.’

Especially to a recruit. But Britton (from MCC) claims the recruitment connection between the two schools isn’t as confusing as it may seem.

‘I talk to April about recruiting,’ Britton said. ‘She will give us a tip on a player who isn’t qualified for Division I, and we’ll let her know who’s doing well for us. We talked a little bit and (SU’s staff) came out to see us play. They definitely seemed impressed.’

And here at SU, the transfers have been getting used to the new style of play.

‘It’s definitely a brand new transition,’ Cristofori said. ‘You never know if you’re going to be in the game or not. At MCC, Shana, Kelly, and I knew if we had a bad day that we were still going to get into the game. It’s definitely different, but it makes you better in the long run.’

Since coming to SU, the MCC transfers have ignited the once-dormant offensive attack. Cristofori’s knack for controlling air balls in the box has put her second on SU in points, with 12 (five goals and two assists). Thomas isn’t far behind with four goals and an assist. And while Bailie doesn’t have the offensive stats the other two do, with just two assists, she has her own style of play. She’s more apt to control the middle of the field.

Moving along together made the trio’s transition easier.

‘You’ve always got people there,’ Bailie said. ‘It’s easier because you don’t have to get to know everybody, but they didn’t really make it hard for me. This team’s great.’

That doesn’t mean that Thomas, Cristofori and Bailie aren’t nostalgic about their MCC days.

At a smaller school with a smaller roster, it’s tough not to become tight with your teammates. Especially when your coaches force the sophomores and freshman to square off against each other in the team’s annual singing competition called Airbands.

‘We would basically make idiots out of ourselves,’ Bailie said. ‘The winners would get out of sprints or something like that. We would do it on road trips in hotel lobbies and look like idiots in front of everyone.’

Last year, Cristofori choreographed her team’s performance and Bailie Irish step-danced and played the fife for her team. Despite both team’s efforts, it was deemed a tie.

‘The three of them should do an Airband up at SU,’ MCC’s Britton said.

Though their time at MCC took away from playing at SU, the former MCC players wouldn’t have come to Syracuse through any other means.

‘I wouldn’t change it any other way,’ Cristofori said. ‘I still had another year. I could have stayed another year and I almost did.’

Pepicelli and Britton, though, are glad to have seen them move on.

‘It was sad to see them go,’ Pepicelli said. ‘But I’m happy they reached their goals. They’re playing great.’

Published on October 2, 2003 at 12:00 pm