By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
In the first 27 games of her collegiate soccer career, William & Mary's
Ivey Crain has already scored 13 goals. Tribe coach
Julie Shackford often says the kid has "a one-track mind" when it comes to finding the net, which she did a mind-blowing 61 times as a high school senior.
But Crain isn't so consumed by the sport that nothing else matters. The classroom, where she plans to major in marketing or finance in the Mason School of Business, certainly matters. So does her faith, always a vital part of her upbringing.
And so does her family, which is as large (she has six siblings) as it is tight. She reflects every day how much each one, from parents Steven and Dawn on down, means to her. And how each one managed to escape their house as it burned to the ground nearly 10 years ago.
"Somebody was with us that day," Ivey said. "That could have been a disaster. Something like that has made me a stronger person. I love my family so much."
The Crain children are as follows: Steven (25), a Florida State graduate and investment banker; Caroline (23), a Georgia Tech alum and business systems consultant at Wells Fargo; John (21), a senior at Georgia; Ivey (19), a sophomore at W&M; twins William and Kyle (17), high school juniors; and Katherine (13), who just started eighth grade.
The girls grew up playing soccer. The boys did, too, at least sort of. "They'd be the ones that would sit down and play in the grass," Ivey said. Caroline was certainly good enough to play in college but chose to focus on industrial engineering at Georgia Tech.
Ivey, whose four goals this season are tied for second in the CAA, took to the game from the start. Still, there was a perspective that became even deeper on the morning of Nov. 22, 2013. It was the Friday before Thanksgiving, and the school day was about to begin. But a fire broke out in the family's home in Milton, some 30 miles north of Atlanta.
Miraculously, everyone made it out, if not completely intact. Katherine, then 3, was still asleep, so Dawn went to get her on the second floor. By the time she made it to the staircase to come back down, the flames were too intense.
Dawn did the only thing she could — punch out a window and jump, all the while trying to shield her youngest child. Except for second-degree burns on Dawn's arms, they were fine. Steven, who had gone back in to look for his wife and daughter, was treated and released.
"Everything was destroyed," Ivey said. "We lived in a hotel for a month and a rental house for half a year. … All of that seems so miniscule compared to what could have actually happened."
The Milton community rallied to help with clothes, food and other supplies. "Operation Crain" collected toys as Christmas presents for the children.
"We were really lucky to be able to get back on our feet," Ivey said. "We had such a great community."
The cause was determined to be electrical. Unable to find the house they wanted, the family rebuilt on the same location in Milton.
Although soccer took a back seat, especially during those months after the fire, Ivey never lost her touch. She was a four-year starter at Pinecrest Academy, where she scored 155 goals in four seasons. She played with the Developmental Academy and Atlanta Fire United U17.
A major boost to Crain's development in those years was Domenic Martelli, her coach at Pinecrest and director of college recruiting with AFU. For much of the 1990s, he had been an assistant at the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.
Shackford was the head coach at Princeton then, and their teams occasionally played each other. They kept in touch over the years, which gave Shackford an in with Crain.
"Ivey's a kid who could have played anywhere," said Shackford, whose unbeaten team hosts Monmouth Thursday night. "Part of building this program and getting it to the level where I want it to be is getting kids who could go anywhere but choose William & Mary because they believe in our mission and culture."
Which is precisely what landed Crain. She not only liked the soccer program, she was also drawn to the Mason School of Business.
"My mom and my dad both went the business path," she said. "There's a bunch of different sectors in business, so I feel like no matter what I end up choosing to do, I'll be happy."
In her first game as a collegian against Virginia Tech, Crain scored in the 34th and 36th minute. She came within inches of getting a hat trick when, in the 56th minute, her shot inside the box grazed the top of the crossbar.
Crain finished the season with nine goals, the most by a W&M true freshman since 2005, and six assists for 24 points. She became only the fourth player in program history to be named CAA Freshman of the Year. And the first Tribe freshman in 15 years to make first team All-CAA.
Four games into her sophomore season, Crain already has four goals on 32 shots. Two were in the season opener, a 4-0 win at Temple. The third came in the 87th minute and forced a 1-1 tie against VCU.
"She's relentless," Shackford said. "Even though teams do know about her, she's got such great speed, great instincts, and has a one-track mind about going to the goal. Those are pretty powerful traits.
"She'll have to do more work tactically to get away from defenders, but I wouldn't put anything past her. She's that driven."
She's also that grateful — to be at William & Mary, sure, but even more so to still have her family. A house burning to the ground and all nine of the occupants escaping with their lives … that's not something you put aside.
"That really formed who I am as a person," she said. "To this day, it's a big part of who I am."
