Aug. 3, 2006
The 2006 George Mason women's soccer team has yet to take the field but there is already plenty of excitement among the players and coaches. That's because this edition has one trait that could help the Patriots rise toward the top of the Colonial Athletic Association. Depth.
This year's team, if it can avoid a rash of injuries such as the one suffered in 2005, will field depth at every position. That's thanks to quality returning starters, the return to the field of several players sidelined by injury in 2005, and the addition of a number of impact first-year players.
One of the bright spots last season was the emergence of Rachel Wiggins along the front line. The then-sophomore had seven goals and three assists to lead the team in both categories. Sarah Fack, in her second year with the team, was third on the squad with four goals. The pair return to the team and are currently slated to start on the front line for the Patriots.
"They have a lot of experience between them," said third-year head coach Diane Drake. "The two of them are strong tacticians and they know how to play well together. I hope to see increased point production from both of them."
There are three other returning players that could see time on the front line. Christine Arkwright, who appeared in eight games last year, and Colleen Killiany, who appeared in three games before suffering an ACL tear, are both back as is Petria Bahr, who had an excellent spring. A pair of first-year players, Annie Lebherz and Theresa Delucca, also are expected to challenge for minutes.
"Annie is a goal scorer," said Drake. "She's fast and she'll give us speed we didn't have up front last year. It could add a whole new dynamic. Theresa has been under the radar. If she comes in physically and mentally fit, we'll get immediate contributions from her."
In all, Mason has seven players who are expected to contribute to a front line that struggled to produce enough goals in 2005.
"We're going to have tremendous depth up there," said Drake. "We have the ability to put in pace and runners. Rachel and Sarah have earned the right to play until someone shows they can do a better job or has a better chemistry. It'll be a fun battle and it'll be nice to have so many options."
While there are seven players battling for time at the forward spots, there will be eight players fighting for time in the midfield. One player who should be in the starting lineup for every match is junior Jessica Paris.
"J.P. has grown a lot in the spring and summer," said Drake. "She's embraced fitness, she's prepared, she's psychologically strong and she seems excited for this year. She is possibly our most well-rounded player.
"She can smack a ball 50 yards, she can play short cultured passes, she understands the flow and the rhythm of the game and she wins balls in the air."
Sophomore Nilani Duarte and junior L.J. Williams will likely return to the starting lineup. Sophomores Katy Woods and Mary Raveia and freshmen Patti Benner and Natasha Vido will fight to get into the starting lineup. Killiany could also see time in the midfield.
Duarte and Raveia played in all 19 games last season while Woods appeared in just one game. Duarte is "fit, creative and plays wonderful through balls," according to Drake, while Raveia "was our best player in the air last year." Williams missed all of 2005 due to injury and the Patriots are excited to welcome her back to the field this season.
"L.J. is one of our special players," said Drake. "She's got a competitive spirit that very few players can match. That was missed so badly last year. She has the ability to get on a teammate for their work ethic and back it herself. And she's got that motivation that most people don't, which is the passion to be back and on the field after missing a year."
Benner, Vido and Cabe, while just freshmen, will be given every opportunity to crack the starting lineup. Drake likes what Benner can bring on set pieces. "She's an absolute beast in the air," said Drake. "She's an amazing attacker on headers." Cabe, meanwhile, is expected to have one of the largest impacts of the first-year players.
"We're expecting an instant impact from Leslie," said Drake. "She has the ability to come out on the field and instantly contribute. One thing that makes her special is that she wants to be a part of every play and she plays both sides of the game. She's really quick, she has good feet and good pace.
"I absolutely think our midfield will be the strength of our team, the glue that binds us together. It's filled with tremendous depth."
Which is not to say the back line won't be as polished or deep as the midfield and forward positions. In fact, the back line returns a plethora of experience. Laura Salichs, Jessie Hart and Alison Feldman started 17, 14 and nine games, respectively in 2005.
"You want that experience on the back line," said Drake. "They're all really good individual defenders, they're good tacklers and good ball-handlers. And they've played together so they have a good feel for each other's game."
Raveia and Benner could see time on the back line if they aren't playing at midfield and freshman Hannah Sklar will very much be in the mix for that fourth starting spot on the back line. Junior Amanda Schmidt, still recovering from an injury that kept her out all of 2005, will add depth when healthy.
The competition for starting goalkeeper is currently wide open, as freshman Kelly Keelan battles junior Kasey Davenport and the team's lone senior, Olivia Brown. Brown started 11 games in goal last year for the Patriots while Davenport started eight. Davenport saw more minutes in goal for the Patriots and took over the position late in the 2005 season, but Brown has played in net each of her previous three seasons.
"Keelan has tremendous culture behind her," said Drake. "She has trained with the under-19 national pool in England and she continues to train with them. She has all the tools in the net including a great left foot.
"Davenport is psychologically strong, has great hands and came on very strong at the end of last season.
"Olivia, has more experience than all of them and a great understanding of the game."
Drake and her new assistant coaches will spend the preseason finding out which players work well together. At the same time, she and her new coaching staff will be gelling. Danielle La Roche joins the staff after serving as an assistant at Binghamton. The former Maryland player is in her sixth season overall as a collegiate coach. David Tenney will also be an assistant coach as he will work with the goalkeepers for both the men's and women's teams. He spent last year working as a volunteer assistant with the men's team and in the spring, he worked with the women's goalkeepers. Also joining the staff in her first year as an assistant coach is former player Allison Cowan. She was a former captain and an All-CAA performer. Cowan played with eight members of the 2006 team.
The 2006 season will get underway on Friday, August 25 when the Patriots travel to Virginia Tech for a 7 p.m. game. The home opener will be on Sunday, August 27 at 2 p.m. when Mason hosts Coastal Carolina. The Patriots will play in a pair of local tournaments the following two weekends when Mason takes on Georgetown and American at the Hoya Classic (Sept. 1 and 3, respectively) and Seton Hall and Georgia in a tournament at Virginia (Sept. 8 and 10, respectively). A road game at Navy on Sept. 15 and a home game against Maryland on Sept. 17 conclude the non-conference portion of the schedule.
Mason will face UNC Wilmington, Georgia State, Old Dominion, William & Mary and Virginia Commonwealth at home this coming season with road games at Northeastern, Hofstra, Delaware, Drexel, James Madison and Towson. The CAA Tournament begins Oct. 30 and concludes on Nov. 4 with the championship game at the tournament's highest seed.
