The Bailey sisters showcase

With 11 teammates on the field, soccer is a game of knowing what your teammates are going to do at any given moment. This process can take years to learn, especially as rosters change every season. For sophomores Lindsey Bailey and Kristen Bailey, this task comes easy.

The twins have been playing together since they were very young. With so much time on the field together, they feel that they have learned as much about each other as possible, and they use this understanding of one another to exploit defenses.

"We do think because we have played together for so long we have a competitive advantage over the other players," Lindsey said. "We use what we know about one another's abilities to open up the field."

Had soccer not come along, the Bailey sisters had a backup sport they could have both played together: hockey. The sisters played hockey for 12 years, which they feel was the highlight of their athletic careers prior to becoming Bulls. However, with the sports sharing similarities, both sisters borrow facets from hockey and utilize them on the soccer field.

"I definitely bring the physical play of hockey onto the field," Lindsey said. "I will throw a few hips to get position just out of instinct from playing hockey so much."

The aggressive nature of hockey sometimes gets into the heads of the Bailey sisters, which helps them as they both start for the Bulls.

Because they are both on the field at the same time, they notice each other's mistakes. Much like any twin fight, when one does something wrong, the other will let them know about it.

"Oh yeah, she definitely yells at me if I mess up," Kristin said. "If I do not do what she thinks was the right play, she will start screaming at me."

While they might fight a lot like any two sisters would, they get over it quickly because the fighting doesn't just ensue on the soccer field - it carries over into the dorm room. Their roommates have to deal with the two getting in each other's faces, but time heals all wounds and usually a couple of minutes is all they need to patch their differences.

"If she doesn't come to dinner with me, and she said she would, I will start yelling at her," Lindsey said. "Our roommates will have to sit and listen to it. They get confused though, when five minutes later we are apologizing to one another and making up."

For the most part, the Bailey sisters get along with one another and have been doing so since they were children. They attribute their actions to their grandfather, who comes to each of their soccer games in Buffalo.

"He comes to all of our home games and always has some sort of input about what we did well or what we could do better," Lindsey said. "We know he knows what he is talking about."

Many feel that the Bailey sisters are great athletes. Whether its from tidbits from their grandfather or 12 years of ice hockey experience, the two have picked up something that has turned them into a duo that many on the soccer field are scared of.