Jackie Firenze looked like she was starting to tear up.

She said she doesn’t like to think about it, but 10 days before her final game at Syracuse, the senior was forced with to think about the inevitable.

“It kind of sucks,” she said.

Firenze, a two-year captain, has been a leader for the Orange long before she was granted the privilege of wearing the black and white striped band on her right arm. On Saturday, she’ll take the field for the final time as Syracuse (7-10-1, 3-6 Atlantic Coast) hosts No. 7 Clemson (12-3-1, 6-3) at 1 p.m. at SU Soccer Stadium.

“Jackie, she’s been crying about it,” her mother, Kelly Firenze, said. “She’s been struggling … especially as it gets closer, knowing that the end is (near).”

The beginning, however, started well before taking the field as a freshman in 2012. The Baldwinsville resident grew up an Orange fan and attended women’s soccer games even before Syracuse head coach Phil Wheddon held the position.

When it came time to choose a college, Firenze originally committed to Boston University, but thinking about the field she grew up attending influenced her decision to stay.

“She changed her mind at the end and she said, ‘Why would I want to go anywhere else?’” Kelly said.

As a freshman, Wheddon said the thing that stood out most about Firenze was an edge to her that he said was probably higher than some of his older players.

He said the coaches looked at Firenze then and knew she’d be a captain at some point in her Syracuse career.

“Of course it’s challenging stepping into a role where you have a lot more responsibilities,” Firenze said. “But I think I was ready for it.”

Firenze said any difficulties adjusting to the new position were lessened by what she learned from Alyscha Mottershead and Jenna Rickan, the two captains her freshman year she credits for helping to mold her into the leader she is now.

On the field, Firenze is a vocal presence. She can often be seen shouting directions to teammates and motioning across the field. After a 0-0 tie against Cornell on Sept. 11 — the third straight game SU was unable to muster a goal — Firenze was clear things had to change.

She struggled to describe the cause of the scoring struggles but was adamant about figuring it out. The next day, Syracuse held a team meeting and went on to put up two goals in its next game, a 2-1 win over Colgate.

The elephant in the room on offense was on the forefront of the captain’s mind.

“She’s not afraid,” Wheddon said. “And this is one of the things I appreciate most about Jackie, is she’s not afraid to say the things that are uncomfortable.”

On Sunday, the senior walked onto the field for the second half of SU’s game against Wake Forest. Sam Hunt’s “Leave the Night On” blared through the speakers and a proud mother beamed from the wet bleachers.

Kelly talked of her favorite memory — when Firenze scored the game-winning goal against UConn her freshman year on a shot that snuck through the goalkeeper’s legs with three seconds left, the only time Syracuse has beaten UConn in the last 21 meetings between the two teams — and mentioned how all good things must come to an end.

Firenze has thought of trying to play professionally after Syracuse or coaching at the college level, something her mother said would be the “dream job.” The senior isn’t sure exactly where she’ll go from here, but it won’t be far.

“She’s not ready to give it up,” Kelly said. “Soccer is in her future.”

Published on October 28, 2015 at 8:29 pm

Contact Matt: mralex01@syr.edu