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SPORTS INFORMATION—2008
WOMEN'S SOCCER HAS CINCY SISTER ACT...
CLEVELAND, OH (October 22, 2008) - This season has been a special one for sisters Liz and Ann Altenau (Cincinnati, OH), because for the first time they are playing soccer together on the same team.
“We broke our neighbor’s fence playing soccer in the backyard as kids,” Liz recalled. “But growing up we never got the chance to play on an actual team together.”
Because of the age gap between the two (Liz was a senior in high school when Ann was a freshman), the sisters would have to wait until college to experience what it would be like to play as teammates. But even that has taken time to come to fruition.
Ann came to Case Western Reserve University last season and was getting ready to play on the team as a freshman. Meanwhile, Liz, who was heading into her senior season, decided to take a Co-Op in Naples, Fla. designing orthopedic implant and surgical devices, thus leaving the team for a year. Looking back, Ann thinks the way things played out was for the better.
“If my sister were here when I came to Case, then I would have just stuck by her side,” Ann explained. “By her not being here, it forced me to go out on my own and figure out who I am without her. Now that I got the chance to do that, I’m glad she is back.”
Since the year that Liz spent in Florida was not with the team, she left herself with one final year of eligibility. Now she is playing out her senior season on the field alongside her sister.
Liz, who has started 44 games on defense for the Spartans in her career, has watched as Ann has been given a bigger role on the team. Ann, now a sophomore, has started three games this season, including the last two, and her big sister can’t help but be excited.
“For me I can usually get my nerves under control during pregame warm-ups,” Liz said. “But when I know she [Ann] is starting, or she is standing at the sub-line about to come in, I get nervous for her. It’s an excited nervous, though.”
Ann can remember the first time she met her teammates as a freshman – she walked into the room, and all the girls on the team thought she was Liz. The fact that the two sisters have a striking resemblance to each other is ironic, because they actually have twin older brothers. And while they get mistaken for each other quite often, Liz claims they never get mistaken for being quick.
“We’re both really slow,” Liz joked. “Neither of us have any speed. So, we have to make up for it by playing smart.”
The women’s soccer team (7-8) has had an up and down season, but the team continues to work hard. In only her second year with the Spartans, Ann has noticed a change in the team’s play.
“We’re making changes, and we’re seeing the team playing better,” Ann said. “It’s just frustrating because we want to win now, but we realize it will take time.”
For Liz it is even harder, because she only has four games left in her college soccer career.
“My career is about to be over, and that’s a little scary,” Liz explained. “But I’m sure I’ll be checking up on the team when I’m done. And I will have Ann to call and be like ‘what happened’ and ‘who scored’.”
The team plays Oberlin College this Saturday at home, and then finishes the season with three University Athletic Association matches against conference rivals the University of Chicago (Oct. 31), Washington University (Nov. 2) and finally at the University of Rochester (Nov. 8).
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