“We recruited her as a goal scorer, but it’s definitely a pleasant surprise that she’s leading the team in scoring,’’ Meredith said.
Meredith has seen constant improvement from Gavin, who helped lead Duxbury High to the Division 2 state title in 2008. She is a shooter by nature, and when she arrived in New Haven, Gavin made it a point to show off her blessed boots to the coaching staff.
“I wanted to be noticed by the coaches early and I knew I had a pretty good shot,’’ Gavin said. “I wanted them to see that.’’
Meredith and his staff took notice.
“Melissa will shoot from the parking lot,’’ Meredith said. “It doesn’t matter where she is. If she’s within range, she’s not shy about shooting. Any opening she gets, she’ll shoot, and when you shoot more, you have a better chance at getting goals.’’
At first, Meredith asked Gavin to explore other options with the ball at her feet. But once Gavin started scoring, the coach backed off. Her 32 shot attempts are by far the most on the Bulldog roster this year, and fourth in the Ivy League.
Gavin developed her shot working with the Scorpions FC club team while in high school. From a young age, she was envious of teammate Samantha Mewis, currently a freshman playing at UCLA. The Hanson native had a booming shot, and could boot with both feet.
“I was very jealous that she could shoot better than I could,’’ Gavin said. “I worked a lot on my shot, getting a harder shot. I think that has really helped. I just feel comfortable when I have a shot, so I always look to take it.’’
Her biggest challenge was finding her role at Yale. In her time at Duxbury, and with the Scorpions, she had learned that things tend to fall into place when players accept the roles that they have been presented.
For Gavin, that meant a change of strategy during her first weeks as a Bulldog.
“I think my role is really in attacking and dribbling,’’ she said. “Just trying to be dangerous on the wing, which is something I’m not really used to doing. That took some adapting to.’’
