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O
ne
doesn’t need to dive deep
into conversation with Murielle Tiernan to realize
that this carefree young woman rebels against making definitive
plans about … well … anything.
She only made her college decision because her parents practically
forced her. She had no clue as to what she wanted to study when she
arrived at Virginia Tech. She remains unsure about playing professional
soccer when she concludes her career later this fall. She graduates next
May, with no idea as to her next step in life.
“I like to pretend that I’m not graduating,” she said, with a laugh.
“When I was in high school, I wasn’t going to go to college, and now, I’m
not being a real adult. That’s terrifying.
“Yeah, I get a little nervous when I make plans.”
Yet Tiernan, a standout player on the Tech women’s soccer team,
possesses a perfect plan when she’s out on the pitch—a plan lethal to
her opponents. This simple strategy consists of two steps.
She wants to score goals. Lots of them. And she wants to win.
Tiernan has become prolific at the former and the Hokies have
become adept at the latter during her career. Largely because of her
production and leadership and that of her senior classmates, the
Hokies have won 58 games the past four years and are trying to secure
a ninth consecutive NCAA appearance.
Tiernan, a product of Ashburn, Virginia, holds the Tech record for
career goals scored with 46 (as of Oct. 10)—a mark that she actually
broke
her junior year
. She also holds the career records for game-
winning goals (22), multiple-goal games (9) and shots (233).
“I don’t think anyone comes expecting to break records,” she said.
“It’s always great, but I had no idea. I didn’t expect to start or play my
freshman year. We had so many forwards when I looked at the roster
coming in and I was like, ‘Mom, I don’t know.’ She was like, ‘Just go in
and play.’ That’s what I did.
“I was lucky that I got to play with Jaz [All-American Jazmine
Reeves] my freshman year [when she scored 11 goals]. She made my
job twice as easy. A lot of times, I’m just in the right place at the right
time. It’s just trying to know the tendencies of your teammates. I think
it’s also being versatile and being able to get behind defenders. You can
get a lot of different types of goals. I don’t think there is one way to do
it. A lot of it is just being in the right place at the right time.”
Of course, none of this comes as a surprise to those with any
soccer knowledge. They watch her on the pitch and see a formidable
combination of size, strength and athleticism. At 5-foot-11, she stands
as the tallest player on the squad.
Physical traits, though, only tell half the story. She plays with
a ferocity rarely matched by her opponents, and she possesses an
uncanny ability to find open pockets—something that can’t be coached.
She also knows how to finish, too, as nearly 40 percent of her shots end
up in the back of the net.
Tiernan, an All-American last year and a three-time All-ACC choice,
does all this while playing with a disease called cystic fibrosis in which
a defective gene causes a buildup of mucus in the lungs and clogs the
airways, thus making it hard to breathe. She was diagnosed as an infant,
but refused to let it affect her while playing sports as a kid.
“When I was younger, I was pretty unaware,” she said. “I knew I had
it, but it wasn’t anything significant. Once my club team started going
to summer camps, I noticed. They were a week long and they were in
August.
“I remember going to a camp, and my mom came up the second day.
She
said that I
looked like a zombie. I was so
dehydrated that my body was shutting down.
So I ended up sitting out a session each day.”
Tiernan self-administers two treatments daily—one in the morning
and one in the evening. Tech women’s soccer coach Chugger Adair
monitors her minutes, often subbing her out of the first game when the
Hokies play two games in a three-day stretch. Tech’s sports medicine
staff keeps a vigilant eye on her, too, particularly during hot weather,
as the heat tends to exacerbate her problems. She jokes that she’s the
only player on the team who likes colder weather.
One would expect such a disease to cause her issues or perhaps
even keep her from playing. After all, soccer requires running,
which requires breathing. But there hasn’t been a single
incident since she arrived on campus.
Certainly, her production defies medical logic.
“I don’t think I’d say surprised,” Tiernan said
when asked if she was surprised at her
success. “I’ve never thought of it [cystic
fibrosis] having any effect on my ability to
compete as a normal person. I have to do a
little extra here and there and take a little more time off, but it’s never
been, ‘Oh, I can’t do what someone else can do because of this.’
“It’s not that I’m not surprised at how successful I’ve been. I just
don’t think CF is a factor.”
Adair knew of Tiernan’s cystic fibrosis diagnosis during the recruiting
process. So, too, did all the other college coaches recruiting her. No one
backed off. She scored more than 50 goals and dished out more than
40 assists at Stone Bridge High, so she looked rather healthy to college
coaches. They were more than willing to overlook any potential future
health problems.
Early in her junior year of high school, she picked Tech over Michigan
and Pepperdine, near an area where much of her father’s family lives.
She wanted to wait, but her parents, Ed and Kathy, coerced her into
committing before the scholarship
offers dried up. Like many, she
was tired of the process and
practically committed out
of frustration.
“It was the best
decision I’ve ever
made,” she said.
“I’ve never regretted
it once.
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Inside Hokie Sports