There has been a growing tradition on the Rowan University women’s soccer team of getting contributions from Hamilton Township players, most notably those from Steinert.
Several years ago, Jess Babice, Christine Foy and Christie Fink were all part of some outstanding Prof teams. The past two years, the scenario has been altered slightly—both East and West are helping out.
Hamilton graduate Victoria Camera is now in her third year as a starter, while Steinert’s Chelsea Pitonyak, who came by way of Mercer County Community College, is a key reserve on a team that went 10-3-1 in its first 14 games.
Pitonyak is also living up to her predecessors’ reputations.
“My coach (Scott Leacott) always jokes that there must be something in the water at Steinert,” she said. “He says everybody from Steinert is a little kooky when they come down here.”
That water runs through the entire township, as Camera will be the first to admit she has a bit of that kookiness in her, too. But both girls are all business when they are on the field.
Interestingly, they are not on the field together as they spell each other at right outside midfield. Camera starts and was second on the team in scoring with four goals and five assists as of Oct. 20.
Pitonyak comes in to give her a break. She had just one assist and one shot in 13 games this year, but her ability to stir things up is extremely valuable. She calls herself more of a passer than a scorer and always opts to make plays on the end line or start services—anything, she said, to “cause havoc.”
“My coach will put me in and say ‘Be a spark,’” Pitonyak said. “He tells me to go out and run as hard as I can. I go in about 20 minutes into the game, and try to cause as much mischief as I can for the other team.”
Pitonyak has found this new role to be quite liberating.
“It’s fun,” she said. “I’ve never been in this position before. It’s very different, but it’s made me a better player. I go in, and I don’t have the mindset of saving energy. I run around like a crazy person.
“I’ve always been there for the long haul, a workhorse on the field with endurance. But this is kind of just going in and doing as much as I can for as long as I can.”
Once she’s done, it’s time for Camera to get back in and do her thing.
“She goes in and gets warmed up, I go in and tire them out, and she goes back in and puts them away,” Pitonyak said with a laugh.
“Yeah, that’s pretty accurate,” Camera said. “It’s definitely working out. Chelsea can send some great crosses. And she’s always the joker on the team. When you need a good laugh, she’s always there.”
Pitonyak wasn’t laughing much last year, which was her first with the Profs after two years on Mercer’s squad. After colliding with the goalie in preseason, she bruised her hip. That set her back, and her season never quite got on track.
Camera went through her growing pains as a freshman, but did appear in all 19 games off the bench and had two goals and an assist playing as a defensive outside midfielder. As a sophomore, she started all 18 games and was moved to right back due to an injury at sweeper that re-aligned the Profs back line.
As a junior she was moved again, starting 14 of 19 games at center midfield and scoring five goals and two assists. She had a game-winning goal against Wilkes.
This season, Camera is in her fourth different role in as many years. Despite being back at outside mid, she is being asked to score more than her first season at that spot.
“Since I moved back to outside mid, we’re definitely using them more to score this year,” she said. “It’s another option now. Not just the forwards are scoring goals. They stressed that point at the beginning of the year that we would get good opportunities to score as well.”
Pitonyak has been impressed with how Camera has moved all over the field and never let her level of play drop.
“Vic’s a great player,” she said. “She knows how to finish, she’s very strong in the air and she’s just an aggressive player. She’s very versatile playing defense, center mid and back on the outside. She really steps up to the plate whatever role she’s in.”
Camera says she has no favorite or least favorite position (except goalie, where least is concerned). She felt part of her problem as a freshman—which is normal among most college athletes—was mostly in her head. After some kind words from her coach, though, she started working on her confidence, and it shows.
“Physically, I have tried to improve my touch over time,” Camera said. “I haven’t really worked on shooting. Most of my goals have been off crosses which have been one-time volleys, or in the air. I’ve had three years to watch people play that position and understand it better. He put me there to see what I could do this year.”
Of course, there is irony to this whole story. While the two are now interchangeable parts, in high school they were trying to shut each other down. Camera said Pitonyak was “just another one of the other team on the field” in their Hamilton days.
“It’s funny how things end up,” she said. “Coming into college, it’s about meeting new people. She came to visit, and we asked her to be our roommate. It’s weird how things ended up. It only ended up for the better.”
Pitonyak agreed, saying they only knew each other as rivals.
“I didn’t know her personally, just on the field,” she said. “I’d always end up having to mark her, and she’d end up marking me. It’s funny, you go through the Hamilton rec soccer club and all these people that you’re familiar with, they’re just constantly your rival. Now, she’s my roommate. It’s funny how things end up.”
Some might even call it kooky.
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