C — oco Vandiver stood alone in the middle of the Lally Athletics Complex field, feeling invisible. It was her first Division I practice, and, as former Syracuse defender Hallie Simkins put it, the jump from high school is like getting hit by a freight train.
But if no one knows who you are, how bad could it really be?
Vandiver was an unknown, undersized, unpopular recruit. With her first collegiate drill set to begin, everything slowed down. The field split in two. Midfielders one way. Defenders the other. The choice was hers…