University of Richmond Athletics
Spider Spotlight - Ashley & Lindsey Williams
10/30/2014 | Women's Soccer
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| Spider Bytes | ||
| Ashley | Lindsey | |
| Class: | Senior | Freshman |
| Position: | Midfield | Midfield |
| Height: | 5-2 | 5-3 |
| Hometown: | Williamsburg, Va. |
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| High School: | Warhill |
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| Major(s): | Biology | Biology |
| See our Previous Spotlights | ||
Twice a month, we'll visit with a different Spider student-athlete in the Spider Spotlight.
Did You Know...
• After getting to play one season together in high school, these two teamed up for one more year together on the collegiate level...
• Ashley said she never pressure her youger sister to come to Richmond, but was happy when head coach Peter Albright asked her if he could recruit Lindsey to play for the Spiders, which he did and she said it felt right to come here, though it was not necessarily a goal in college to play with her sister
• After committing to the Spiders, Lindsey took advantage of her older sister's position on the team to start learning the players and getting to know them on visits to campus. Both attribute some of the closeness of the team this season to having Lindsey and Ashley act as bridges between the freshman class and the veterans on the team.
Meet the Williams sisters...
Before we get to the usual questions, we asked them a few questions about having a sister at school and on the team...
 Ashley |
 Lindsey |
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| Best part of having your sister on the team? | Getting to play another year of competitive soccer with my best friend at the collegiate level. |
She is always pushing me to do better and make my game sharper. I want to be just as good as she is and she gives me something to strive for. |
| Best part of having your sister at UR? |
She's the person I go to when I've had a rough day and I know she'll put a smile on my face. |
She is always there for me to talk to, whether it is about soccer or school and I know that she will always help me. |
| What you will miss most next year when you are apart? |
I'm definitely going to miss being able to see her everyday. I'm going to miss playing soccer with her on a daily basis. I'm going to miss her laughing at my stories and being able to joke around with her. |
I will definitely miss all of our jokes and times laughing both on and off the soccer field. We can always make each other laugh and we can always get each other out of bad moods. |
| Most impressive thing your sister has done this year... |
Lindsey earning a starting spot in many of the games we've played this season has really impressed me. It's very hard for a freshman to be able to start at a Division I level and I'm lucky to be able to play with her by my side. |
How my sister has adapted to playing a wide midfield position when she has never played that position before in her career. She plays it really well and gives it her all every time that she steps out on the field. |
| What would she say about you to that question? |
I think she will say that she's impressed at how I've developed as a player and teammate since a senior in high school. She's seen how I've matured as a senior captain in high school and how I've become a senior captain in college. |
I think that she will describe how I have earned myself a starting position on the team this season |
| Thing about your sister that annoys you the most... |
Sometimes she doesn't take certain things as seriously as I think she should. I can become pretty focused and intense on the field and it can bug me when she doesn't. |
Although I love when she helps me with my game, sometimes I feel like she picks me out more than she does with everyone else because I am her sister. Sometimes it seems that she finds something wrong with everything that I do and that I can improve on. |
| What will she say annoys her the most about you? | She'll say that I can become too intense and serious on the field and that I'm annoying when I yell during games or practice. |
I think that her answer will be that sometimes I am not as serious and focused as I should be on the field (for example in warm-ups before games). |
| Something you are better at than her on the field... |
I have more of a hot head when it comes to soccer and I'm more willing to get into reckless tackles as opposed to her style of play. |
I think that I am better at reading the game and finding precise, smart passes to teammates. |
| Something she is better at than you on the the field... | She's very good at being calm and composed with the ball. I think she's very good at distributing the ball to our teammates. | I think that she is better at being physical on the field and not being afraid of going into tackles. |
| What has been your most memorable moment together this year, on or off the field? |
While introducing the starting teams at our very first home game that we started together, the announcer said “a 5'2” mid-fielder from Williamsburg, VA… Ashley Williams” when he was supposed to announce her before me. She had already taken a step out and begun waving when he said my name and so she took a step back and I stepped out. |
After the George Washington where the team lost, we were both in really bad moods (Ashley more so than me) on the way back home and I went to where she was sitting on the bus while everyone else was sleeping and we just talked. We talked and laughed and just put each other into better moods. It's the small things and moments with her that are the most memorable to me and what I will miss the most about her. I also surprised her in front of her friends at midnight when she turned 21 with a cake, balloons and flowers. |
Career aspirations:
AW: Physical therapist
LW: Orthodontist
Three words to describe yourself:
AW: hard-working; passionate; caring
LW: awkward, competitive & vivacious
Best or most memorable moment as a member of your Spider program:
AW: I scored my first career, collegiate goal as a Spider my freshman year when we were playing at Northwestern in a tournament. I headed the ball off of a free kick and immediately ran all the way back to midfield, where I met Checo (Melissa Pacheco, who was our senior goalie), and jumped into her arms.
LW: Not a lot of memories yet... I had a lot of fun doing a scavenger hunt with the team. One of our tasks was to brab the ice cream part when ordering an ice cream cone at a drive through. It was the funniest thing ever.
The best nickname on the team:
AW: Dub (mine)
LW: Lil-Will, also Ashley's nickname is Dub and mine is L-Dub
Strengths:
AW: My passion for the things that I love
LW: I read the game well and distribute the ball
Toughest opponents:
AW: UVA; Dayton
LW: Dayton and George Washington
Working to improve:
AW: Not stressing over the small stuff
LW: Getting into the atttack more and switching the field
Best sports memory:
AW: Winning the regional tournament my senior year of high school against our crosstown-rivals
LW: When my team won the State Cup for our second time. We won it when we were U13 our first year together and then again against the same team in our last year together in 2013. That gave us a number-one ranking in the state.
Favorite meal: 
AW: anything Mexican
LW: Steak and potatoes
Favorite ice cream:
AW: Oreo
LW: Chocolate milkshake
On your playlist:
AW: The entire Rihanna album (Unapologetic) and Beyonce's newest album
LW: "Impossible is Nothing" by Iggy
Most embarrassing thing on your playlist:
AW: “I'll Make A Man Out Of You” from the Disney movie, Mulan
LW: "All About You" by Hillary Duff
If you have one wish:
AW: To win A10's and make the NCAA tournament my senior year
LW: That I could travel and watch every World Cup and Olympic game for the rest of my life without paying anything.
What most people don't know about you:
AW: I own a dog pillow pet family, all named after my first one “Spud,” who was initially supposed to be “Dubs” backwards… and we see how that went.
LW: After anyone on the team scores a goal, I am very awkward during celebrations and I am trying to get better at that (Ashley always calls me out on it).
If you could go on any game show:
AW: Family Feud. I would love to go on a game show with my family!
LW: American Ninja Warrior
Hidden talent:
AW: I can balance a field hockey stick on my nose (realized when I played field hockey in 8th grade)
LW: I can play the recorder with my nose
Dream car:
AW: Mercedes Benz convertible
LW: Corvette
If you could travel anywhere in the world:
AW: I would travel to Italy because I think Italy is absolutely beautiful.
LW: Greece
Favorite class: 
AW: Movement Improvisation
LW: I like science classes and really like studying psychology
Pets: Alex, our Golden Lab mix (we love and miss him so much!); two cats, KC and Smokey
Hero:
AW: Mia Hamm (an amazing soccer player who paved the way for girls to succeed in women's soccer)
LW: Lionel Messi
Favorite childhood TV show:
AW: Spongebob Squarepants
LW: Wizards of Waverly Place
If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive:
AW: Rihanna
LW: Theo James
If you could have any superpower:
AW: To live off of little to no sleep; that way I could be more productive and get more things done in a timely manner.
LW: Time Travel
