MORGAN MARSHALL
Special to The Leader
On the Wednesday before classes, the Fredonia women’s soccer team’s preseason began. The 2016 team roster has a total of 20 athletes for the current season. The Blue Devils will return with eight players that saw significant minutes last season, a new freshman class of six and two new transfers, who will also play a large role this year.
Chris Case is the head coach for the women’s soccer team and Kyle Marvin is the assistant coach. Case is beginning his 15th season as head coach. Case explained that he has a core group of girls that are experienced and knows what it takes to win, and some are figuring it out and will be a work in progress.
“It is important that upperclassmen continue to help their teammates learn and have them all fighting and competing for the same thing,” said Case.
Within the last two years, the team began weightlifting in the offseason with Fredonia’s strength and conditioning coach Ryan Maloney. They started with two days a week and continued this past Spring with three days a week.
“The strength and conditioning has implemented accountability with where we are with our fitness and our strength,” Case explained. “I feel that we have incoming players that will be game changers for us and have potential to make a great impact on the team with either a starting role or minutes on the field.”
The captains for this season are seniors Maria Gordon, Alexis Moreland and Kaleigh Creeden. All three captains have played and started all previous years of their careers and are expected to play huge roles for the team this year.
Gordon, who has been a captain for two years, said she was “privileged and excited to be a leader on this team.
“I am looking forward to finishing my career with the same five girls that I started with my freshman year, and I am predicting an improvement from last season with the returners and new players,” said Gordon.
“We have a good mixture of young and older players. I think our success will come down to if we can all work and mesh together as a team on and off the field,” Moreland, a first-year captain said. “As a senior, it is hard to believe that it is my fourth season. But I know, not only speaking for myself but for the other seniors, we are all excited for this last season together and hope it will be the best yet.”
Hoping to improve on last season’s record of 5-12-1, the team is aware of the challenges it faces along the way.
“Being a leader on this team is exciting to me, but it is also difficult. I want to have a successful season as it is my last, and hope to by always leading by example,” said Creeden. “I think we have an opportunity to be a strong team this year with the new players, but it will take a lot of hard work and dedication.”
“Each of the seniors are good, strong players and will definitely contribute, but the biggest role they play is what they will do to get the team involved in what we are ultimately trying to accomplish with understanding the overall objective of striving for a winning season, and we will be great,” said Case.
The Blue Devils will open up their season on Sept. 2 against the York College of Pennsylvania in Glassboro, New Jersey. Their home opener is slated to take place on Sept. 9 against Baldwin Wallace University at University Stadium.
Morgan Marshall is a member of the Fredonia women’s soccer team.