Biography
By Jim Hague
To call Elizabeth Infante a key member of the Rutgers-Newark women’s soccer program would be a bit of an understatement. It would be the same as calling Charlize Theron as just another pretty girl or Albert Pujols as an ordinary baseball player.
Infante, a junior from West Orange, has to be the most valuable performer on the R-N women’s soccer roster. That’s because she’s able to play every position for the Scarlet Raiders - well, every slot except goalkeeper, but that’s only because she hasn’t been placed in the net as yet.
But during her three-year stint with the Scarlet Raiders, Infante has seen action as a defender and as a midfielder.
And as the 2011 season kicked off last week, Infante found herself in a new position, that being a forward.
Talk about your versatility. Infante can literally do it all.
“She’s a great part of the program because she is so versatile and can play multiple positions,” said R-N second-year head coach Bill Bustamante. “She’s as dedicated and as hard of a worker as we have. She doesn’t ask why. She just goes and does it. She’s been an anchor to our defense, but this year, we moved her up to forward. We’re lucky to have her.”
Infante didn’t hesitate at all about her coach’s decision to switch positions. After all, Infante wasn’t totally strange to being a forward, having played there during her days at West Orange High.
Still, it was a bit of a transition for Infante.
“It was a little crazy,” Infante said. “But I knew I had to do it for the team, even if it was a little out of my comfort zone. As long as I’m helping the team, that’s all that matters. But getting in the proper training to play forward was a little hectic. Going from defender, where you have periods of the game where you’re not running, to forward, where you’re running all the time, I had to make sure I was fit.”
Infante likes having the versatility of playing the three different positions.
“It’s good to have that mentality, knowing I can play anywhere,” Infante said. “I think it definitely helps if one player gets hurt, I know I can step up and fill that position. I can give the coaches some sort of direction.”
Infante believes her diversity helps from the mental aspect of the game as well.
“Knowing the positions is definitely an advantage, because I can know what the other team is thinking,” Infante said. “It’s really helped me a lot.”
Bustamante knew that it would take some time for Infante to get comfortable in her new position.
“I knew she had played forward in high school, but it had been some time,” Bustamante said. “I truly believed she would become accustomed to the position. We did what was best for her and for the team and I knew she would play the position well. She’s a good athlete and she handles situations well. The more I saw her in training, the more I realized that she would do a good job there. She has a good shot and she’s good on the ball.
Added Bustamante, “It’s never easy to step up like that and play a different position, especially on the college level. But she’ll do well up top.”
Bustamante was asked just how valuable it was to have a player like Infante who could handle all three positions in the field.
“It’s definitely not easy to find,” Bustamante said. “Liz is very good for the program and for the team. She’s the type of kid that every team needs. The others will see her dedication and her willingness to help the team over her own personal goals and that is really big. Liz might not even realize what she’s doing, but because she made this sacrifice, she’s helping the team every day.”
Infante has some sense of her responsibility, even if she is still only a junior.
“If the teammates see me step up to the plate and take a chance like this, then I guess I’m setting an example,” Infante said. “If I can tough it out, not complain and play more than one position for the good of the team, then other teammates might want to do the same thing.”
Infante is a history major at R-N, with a minor in Spanish. She’s not sure what she wants to do after graduation, but she believes that she has a possible calling to become a teacher.
“I might like to teach and I’ll probably end up teaching,” Infante said.
For now, she’s very comfortable with her jack-of-all-trades role.
“I feel very confident about the way I’m playing, even if I am all over the place,” Infante said. “I have a lot of confidence in the team as well, even though we are very young. We just need to get a little chemistry, but that comes with playing together. I really think we can surprise a lot of people this year.”
Bustamante knows that Infante’s stay at forward should be a short one.
“I still feel that she’s a defender at heart,” Bustamante said. “She excels at that position. Sure, she does well at forward when she’s needed, but I think her overall strength is on the defensive side.
Added Bustamante, “Liz is a joy to have. She doesn’t care about personal honors or accolades. She just wants to help the team. Her talents are very rare. You really can’t put a price on it. When it’s time to help the team, I just hope I put her in the right position to help us win.”
