UWS Teams Begin to Build Their 2018 Rosters
United Women’s Soccer season kicks off soon and the teams are preparing for success — carefully identifying players, selecting their rosters and front office staff.
Here is an update from the league:
CALGARY FOOTHILLS WFC:
Calgary Head Coach Troye Flannery has been busy building his roster during the month of March, as he heads into his second year in charge. Flannery’s team finished in second place last season in their inaugural season at the pro-am level and his first nine signings are goalkeeper Emily Burns, defender Tristan Corneil, midfielders Tori Martyn, Sarah Kinzner & Rehana Murani and forwards Camilla Shymka, Mya Jones, Alex Lamontagne & Christabel Oduro. Burns, Kinzner, and Jones are returnees from the 2017 team.
Burns was named to the All-UWS Second Team, All-UWS West First Team and was voted Calgary’s Fan Player of the Year. Kinzner also made the All-UWS West Team and both she and Jones have experience in the youth ranks of the Canadian National Team. Lamontagne (Syracuse Univ.) and Oduro (Memphis Univ.) have been capped at the senior international level.
DETROIT SUN FC:
Detroit Head Coach Skip Mukhtar has been a busy man since the start of the year, building the Sun into another contender for the UWS Midwest title. He has almost completed his roster for the 2018 campaign, adding 10 players: goalkeeper Katelyn McEachern (Univ. of Pittsburgh), defenders Emily Dzik (Eastern Michigan Univ.) & Julia Crowe (Michigan State Univ.), midfielders Elaina Eckert (Marquette Univ.) & Joanie Sieja (Oakland Univ.) and forwards Maddie Pogarch (Central Michigan Univ.), Marti Floyd (Leeds Becket Univ.), Cathy Dager (Villanova Univ.) & Alice Palmer (Oakland Univ.).
Pogarch was a member of the 2017 Grand Rapids FC Women side that won the 2017 UWS Championship and is a three-time ALL-MAC honoree. Dzik was a three-time All-MAC First Team selection and was named the 2013 Co-Defensive Player of Year. Both Palmer and Sieja were honored as Horizon League First Team selections while at Oakland.
LANCASTER INFERNO:
Lancaster Head Coach Francisco Cleaves has added a mix of veteran leadership and young up-and-comers to his 2018 roster. The Inferno will be led by team captains Tesa McKibben (Saint Francis Univ.) and Trisha Clark (Elizabethtown College). Both were named to the 2017 All-UWS East Second Team. They lead seven more returnees: goalkeeper Kelly O’Brien (Lafayette), defenders Ashley Chilcoat (La Salle Univ.), Aubrey Suydam (SFU) & Alex Thompson (St. Bonaventure Univ.), midfielders Maddie Schwartz (McDaniel) & Sam Jankowski (SFU) and forward Haley Crawford (James Madison Univ.).
Crawford finished third in league scoring in 2017 and was named to the All-UWS Second Team and All-UWS East First Team. New signings include: defenders Meredith Hill (LIU Brooklyn) and Alyssa Riccione (Bryant Univ.), midfielders Kay Liebl (Millersville Univ.) & Maura Holst (Fordham Univ.) and forward Marissa DiGenova (Temple Univ.).
LANSING UNITED:
Lansing Head Coach Jason Crist has released his team’s first-ever signings for their inaugural UWS Midwest season, led by midfielder Dani Stephan (Michigan State Univ.). Stephan just finished her freshman season at MSU and started all 18 matches last year, playing 1358 minutes and adding a team-high six assists. She will be joined by goalkeeper Grace Kraft (Ferris State Univ.), midfielders Brionna Halverson (St. Louis Univ.) & Erin Doster (Univ. of Massachusetts) and forward Aubrey Schierbeek (Spring Arbor Univ.).
Kraft was named to the 2017 United Soccer Coaches (USC) NCAA Division II All-Midwest Region Third Team and nabbed GLIAC Goalkeeper Of The Year honors. Halverson has experience at the U.S. U-17 National Team level and Doster started 17 of 18 matches at UMass last fall, leading the team in goals (7) and points (16). Schierbeek is a three-time NAIA First Team All American at SAU and was named the 2017 NAIA National Tournament Offensive MVP.
WESTERN NEW YORK FLASH:
Western New York Head Coach Matt Waddington has rounded out his coaching staff and announced 23 players to his roster for the 2018 UWS East season. Rob Ferguson and Gary Bruce will serve as Assistant Coaches while Marcelo Moreira will return as the team’s Goalkeeper Coach.
Ferguson has served as the WNY Flash Academy Director of Coaching since 2016 and Bruce is currently the Director of Coaching of the Western New York Flash Jr. Academy. Moreira previously served as the Goalkeeper Coach for the Western New York during their 2016 NWSL Championship. Waddington is still in the process of building his roster, as the final lineup will have 30 players. Highlighting the initial announcement is forward Carissima Cutrona, who was named to the 2017 All-UWS First Team and led the team in scoring (26 points).
Source: UWS Press Release
