Democrat Photo by Ted Waddell DANIELLE AUSTIN OF Roscoe shows off her commemorative ball.

Austin Tops 100 Career Goals

By Ted Waddell
ROSCOE — October 27, 2000 – A lot of folks think Friday the 13th is unlucky. Black cats are to be avoided at all costs, and walking under ladders is a definite no-no.
But for Danielle Austin of Roscoe Central School, the 13th proved lucky as the 18-year-old senior booter for the Blue Devils girls’ soccer team scored the 100th goal of her varsity career.
The milestone goal was recorded at 10:15 into the second half of Roscoe’s win over the Narrowsburg Lady Indians. By the end of the 8-2 victory, Austin had racked up four goals, including a trio of scores in the opening half. She took to the field on the 13th with 96 varsity career goals.
Her 100th goal was a shot from a little to the left of the top of the box, a high shot into the upper corner of the right side of the net.
After the shot, the game was stopped and Austin was awarded the game ball in recognition of her accomplishment.
“It was a nice feeling after I shot it,” said Austin. “I knew it was going in, and then the whole team was screaming. Everyone was really supportive, and the crowd was yelling. It was nice and low key, just loud enough.”
According to Austin, Narrowsburg coach Linda Pomes had the foresight to anticipate No. 100, and had things planned ahead of time in case she beat the Friday the 13th odds.
“She held the ball out for me and stopped the game. It was really nice.”
Austin is no stranger to soccer. She started playing with an American Youth Soccer Organization club as a second-grader in Boston, MA and then continued her association with AYSO after moving to Liberty.
Austin began her varsity soccer career at Roscoe in the seventh grade as a fullback. In the eighth grade, she moved up to center-midfield and started scoring: in 8th-10th grades, she averaged 12-14 goals per year, racked up 30 goals last season, and after Roscoe’s win over Narrowsburg, has 32 goals to her credit so far this year.
Austin was the last soccer MVP — in the fall of 1999 — of the now-defunct Western Sullivan League.
“She moved up to striker in the eleventh grade, and that’s when she had an opportunity to do a lot of scoring,” said Danielle’s coach and mother Mary Austin.
Austin has been coaching her daughter at Roscoe since Danielle first put on a varsity uniform in the seventh grade.
“As a coach, if I wasn’t her mother, it would probably be a lot easier,” she said. “I’ve made an effort to have her work with other coaches, especially in the Sullivan County United team and the Hudson Valley League.”
According to Mary Austin, her daughter’s main purpose on the soccer field is to “get better and contribute to the team. She’s willing to play wherever she’s needed, she doesn’t particularly have to be on the front line. She knows soccer real well, and she’s put a lot of time into it. It paid off in the long run.
Added the coach/mom: “She wants to be the best she can be at whatever she does, whether it’s soccer, basketball or in the classroom. In soccer, she has that killer instinct to follow through and finish with the ball… that’s why the other players have confidence in Danielle and feed her the ball so much.”
After high school graduation, it’s off to college — and maybe some more soccer — for Danielle, who said she’s looking around at several colleges, and plans to study for a career in medicine or business.
Danielle’s reaction to her 100th goal?
“In my opinion, it was a team accomplishment,” she said.