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WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT COLIN ROLFE
"He's creative, he's strong, he's powerful and you have to be paying attention to him when you're around the goal. But he's not a player that is so narrow in his play that that's all he's thinking about. I think with Colin his danger (for opponents) is that he can create things for others as well as himself. There are moments where he almost throws on the Superman cape... He does things that are incredible. " - Ken Lolla, Louisville Head Coach "Colin Rolfe has a major attacking presence in college soccer today. He imposes his will on defenses with his strength, technique and ability to score goals in a variety of ways." - Chaka Daley, Head Coach Providence College "Colin Rolfe is a big tall striker, not only good at scoring goals but holds the ball up so well. He is a constant nuisance to any defense in the back line. He loves to work hard." - John Harkes, ESPN commentator "The quality student-athletes that compete in BIG EAST Soccer can be seen through the play of Louisville's Colin Rolfe." - Craig Blazer, Head Coach DePaul University "Colin Rolfe had a good week of training with our 1st team and our PDL team. He already has the necessary athleticism to play in MLS and as the week wore on, his ability to play quickly and score goals differentiated him as one of the top college players we had train with us all summer." - Amos Magee, Portland Timbers Assistant Coach Colin Rolfe Wears 'Superman Cape' for Louisville Soccer Team
September 15, 2010 By the standard measures, junior forward Colin Rolfe is the leading light on the University of Louisville men's soccer team. Last year he led the team in scoring and was second in the Big East Conference. This year he was named named preseason All-American by College Soccer News. "There are moments where he almost throws on the Superman cape...He does things that are incredible." UofL coach Ken Lolla said. For instance, there was the time against Illinois-Chicago last season. "He basically received a ball about 40 yards out, turned with it and simply ran by guys, with guys kind of hanging on him trying to get him to stop and -- solo -- scored a goal. He's physically that strong and that powerful." This doesn't always work, of course, in a game as miserly as soccer. So by another measure, Rolfe might look like the frustrated player for the 11th-ranked Cardinals (3-0- 1), who will host Missouri State on Friday night. Take last season's finale, when UofL trailed Indiana 1-0. "There was about 15-20 minutes left, and he literally took the game over," Lolla said. "We ended up not getting a goal out of it, but he created so many opportunities that you say, 'Oh, my goodness.' You see how good he can be." The idea that a scorer can "take over" a game for 15 minutes without denting the scoreboard is one of soccer's cold realities. Lolla called his star forward "reflective." Here is Rolfe's reflection on his job and its torments: "It's understood that it is a hard job to score a goal, and it's not expected to happen every game. But I don't really get frustrated when things aren't going my way." Being foiled doesn't necessarily mean being frustrated. "Colin's gotten much better at dealing with it," Lolla said. "I think there was a point where he only saw himself as a goal scorer. ... Now he adds so much more to the game, in how he defends and how he sets up other teammates. ... He has been much more valuable than just somebody who scores goals." Rolfe led the team in goals (10), points (22) and game-winning goals (four) last year. For all that work, he averaged half a goal a game. This season he has one goal and two assists in four games. That gives him four points, one behind team leader Dylan Mares, a freshman from Zionsville, Ind. Rolfe grew up playing soccer and hockey in the Detroit suburb of Canton and went to Plymouth High School. He said his soccer game reflects his hockey game in "using my body to protect the ball and get around players." Rolfe credits Lolla for keeping his mind in the right place. "He's always telling me that when mistakes are made to not dwell on it," Rolfe said. "When you're thinking about your mistakes, you're not concentrating on your game. You're not in it mentally." "He is just really about being your best and giving 100 percent effort all the time, and since I've been here, I've started not taking any moment for granted." A classroom isn't the only place to learn. "I thought a good soccer player, coming here, was someone that was athletic and had a good touch on the ball and they had vision for the game," Rolfe said. "But when I came here, I realized it's a lot more than that." "it's not only about athleticism, but just being a step ahead of the game in your mind. Surveying situations on the field really will help you make decisions just that much faster." That's one expression of Lolla's entreaty to his players to break out of their "comfort zone." Here's another: "It's trying stuff that you're not used to," Rolfe said. "It could be anything, really ... your athleticism, your strength, just pushing yourself in the weight room, trying new stuff." Here's some old new -- and some new news -- about Rolfe, courtesy of the coach: "He's creative, he's strong, he's powerful, and you have to be paying attention to him when you're around the goal. But he's not a player that is so narrow in his play that that's all he's thinking about. I think with Colin his danger (for opponents) is that he can create things for others as well as himself."
U of L soccer star Rolfe a Travelin' Man; Latest stint is in Scandinavia
June 3, 2011 You don't exactly see recruiting posters boasting "Join the soccer team and see the world." But it's working out that way for Colin Rolfe, a star forward heading into his senior season. In March, Rolfe and his teammates visited Brazil on a goodwill trip. He recently returned from the Pacific Northwest where he practiced with Soccer teams from Seattle and Portland. He leaves Saturday for Scandinavia, where he will spend two weeks getting a look inside professional soccer operations, with teams from Sweden (Djurgarden) and Norway (Fredrikstad). "The experience will provide an idea of what a higher level looks like," U of L coach Ken Lolla said. "The speed of play, the level of play, as well as how they handle themselves and what life looks like as a professional soccer player." Rolfe, a supremely relaxed individual off the soccer field, allows his voice to rise a bit as he says, "It will be nice to kind of see how a professional program is run over there. I've nver been to Europe. Just seeing another part of the world will be great." He will be practicing, watching and listening but not playing. "The NCAA actually won't allow me to play in any games, but I'll be practicing with them every day," he said. Rolfe is going to Europe solo. In Brazil he and his teammates played exhibitions against professional teams, and the trip was part soccer, part goodwill. The players helped install and demonstrate simple systems. They also worked with younger players, teaching them some soccer skills and some life skills -- especially hygiene. Rolfe suggested that the fact that the life lessons came from soccer players made the youngsters more receptive. "The day we left there, when we were sitting in the airport," he said, "I realized that this trip was the best experience of my life -- not only helping those people ... But also the soccer and seeing the experience of the players we were playing against." The U of L players also watched a high-level pro game with about 40,000 other spectators. "It was unbelievable," Rolfe said. "The fans were like nothing I've ever seen. The away- team fans had to enter the stadium from the side where none of the home-team fans enter. And they were separated by barbed wire fences, and several policemen standing right there to keep everyone somewhat tame." It was enough to stir a soccer player's spirits. "For any soccer player to play in that kind of atmosphere and environment is a dream come true," Rolfe said. That sort of dream is deferred until Rolfe wraps up his college career. "I think Colin is going to have options, and likely the opportunity to train with these (pro) teams will create even more options for him," Lolla said. Rolfe was one of the three finalists last season for college soccer's top individual award, the Hermann Trophy. More important, U of L was a finalist in the NCAA Tournament, losing the title game to Akron 1-0. "I think I am still as hungry to get back there as I was the day after we lost," Rolfe said. "I've watched the championship game several times and taken notes to kind of better myself if we get back there this year."
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