|
Edinboro University head coach Gary Kagiavas
has been down this road before. He enters the 2006 campaign with
another youthful roster. But the veteran coach, now in his
eleventh season and the only head coach ever at Edinboro, admits
that this team is even younger than he’s used to.
“No seniors!,” Kagiavas
smiled as he appraised a roster which features eight freshmen and
eight more sophomores. “But even though we have no seniors,
we have experience.”
Now you know the former Gannon University
standout may have spent one too many days in the hot sun.
“The biggest thing I find is this
is an extremely hard-working group,” he points out. “They
are really motivated to do well. It’s a very closely-knit
group of kids that want to play hard. The team is the biggest
factor.
“I think we have a very solid
team,” Kagiavas continued. “They’re very
workmanlike. I don’t think I’ve ever had a team work
harder in the offseason.”
The Fighting Scots finished with a deceiving
7-9-3 record a year ago. Despite the losing ledger, Edinboro was
5-3-2 in the PSAC West, good for third place and a birth in the
PSAC Playoffs. After battling Slippery Rock to a pair of scoreless
ties earlier in the year, Edinboro suffered a 4-1 setback to The
Rock in a downpour in the first round of the playoffs.
“Last year we lost nine games,
and in six of those nine games we outshot our opponents,”
related Kagiavas. “We couldn’t get it in the net.”
Unfortunately, the inability to score is
Kagiavas’ greatest concern heading into the 2006 season. A
year ago Edinboro was shut out six times and scored just one goal
in eight other contests.
“After our first two scorers –
Angie de Almeida and Ashley Pulman – who will score?”
asked Kagiavas. “That’s our big concern. Hopefully Kara
Ciacchini and Janelle Layton will be the answers. We’re
expecting big things from Kara. I’m hoping the maturity of
the forwards and center midfielders is better, and we win the
games we lost last year when we outshot opponents.”
While youth is clearly evident on the roster,
16 letterwinners and eight starters return. That lends to plenty
of experience and a blossoming young team.
Edinboro opens the season on August 24, hosting
Shippensburg. Kagiavas likes his schedule, although he’s
fully aware of the perils of the Pennsylvania State Athletic
Conference.
“Obviously the PSAC games are
always brutal,” he commented. “I think from top to
bottom the PSAC is the best conference in the country. If you go
.500 in the PSAC, you’ve done well. We beat up on each other.
“I think the schedule is not
front-loaded as it has been in the past. It’s challenging,
but not front-loaded. It has tough games throughout. We’ll
have a better opportunity to heal and recover. We play
back-to-back just once.”
As always, Kagiavas has a pair of simple yet
challenging goals – win the PSAC West and make the PSAC
Playoffs. Last year’s trip to the postseason was the third in
the program’s ten years, and if consistent scoring threats
emerge, the Fighting Scots could make it back-to-back trips for
the first time.
Goalkeepers
The Fighting Scots have a hole to fill with the departure of Trish
Chilcott, the starter in goal the last three years. Chilcott holds
the school record for goals against average (1.14) and set a
school record with six shutouts a year ago. She started 18 of 19
contests a year ago.
Kagiavas feels Lisa Bartolowits is up
to the challenge. The sophomore saw limited action a year ago,
finishing with an 0-1 record and 2.91 goals against average in
four matches.
Freshman Samantha Cairns will challenge
Bartolowits. Cairns was a four-year starter at Highlands(Pa.) High
School and Kagiavas feels she has the ability to push for the
starting job.
Defenders
In recent years Edinboro has struggled to find the net, but that
malady has been minimized thanks to a strong defensive
performance. A year ago the Fighting Scots posted seven shutouts
and gave up just 24 goals.
The defense should once again be strong, thanks
in large part to Ashley Jones. A year ago Jones stepped in as a
highly-touted freshman and immediately took over the sweeper
position. She would go on to be named the PSAC West Rookie of the
Year and a first team all-conference selection, and Kagiavas feels
she has gotten better over the winter.
Like Jones, Daryl Estremera started all
19 games a year ago. The junior lines up at left defense. The
Fighting Scots must find a replacement for Kathy Lantzy, a second
team All-PSAC West choice a year ago at right defense. Kim
Koricich, a junior who started 11 matches a year ago, has a
good chance to take over, although Kagiavas looks for freshman
Lauren Christy to push her. Christy helped nearby McDowell
High School to three straight District 10 AAA championships.
Sophomores Whitney MacMartin and Ashley
Young are also expected to see time at defender. MacMartin
played in nine matches, while Young saw action in seven contests.
Midfielders
The greatest amount of returning depth is in the midfield, where
no fewer than five returnees saw considerable action. They will be
joined by several talented newcomers.
Elise Falatach earned second team
All-PSAC West honors after finishing as the third-leading scorer
with 4 goals and 4 assists for 12 points. Now a junior, Falatach
played in and started 17 matches. She has started all 35 contests
in her career.
Mary Grebenc was one of five players to
start all 19 matches, and like Falatach, is a junior and a
two-year starter. She contributed three assists. A third junior,
Kara Ciacchini, will be looked upon for more scoring in
2006. Ciacchini started 18 of 19 matches last year, but after
contributing 4 goals and 2 assists as a freshman, she was limited
to a pair of assists in 2005.
On the outside, Katie DeLuca and Jessica
Lassen return. DeLuca, yet another junior, has been a key
reserve the last two years. She appeared in 18 matches, with 4
starts, in 2005. Lassen is a sophomore who played in all 19
matches, with 9 starts, and was credited with a pair of assists.
Kagiavas looks for a number of other
individuals to step up in the midfield, including junior Rachel
Johnson, sophomores Jessica Rexroat and Leah
Thomas, and freshmen Emily Leone, Maria Dembrow and
Heather Weismiller. In fact, Kagiavas listed Johnson,
Rexroat, and Thomas as part of the group of returning players that
will play key roles in developing solid depth.
Thomas is the most experienced of the trio of
returnees, playing in 13 games. Johnson joined the Fighting Scots
a year ago after playing at Cleveland State as a freshman. She has
been limited by injuries, playing in a total of six matches.
Rexroat saw action in three matches.
Leone, Dembrow and Weismiller are three of the
brightest recruits. Leone is a versatile performer who could play
center or outside midfielder. She joined Christy as part of a
McDowell team which reached the PIAA AAA Western Finals as a
senior. Dembrow was a first team All-Western New York choice as a
junior and senior at Lockport(NY) High School. Weismiller will
challenge for time both at midfield and defender. She was a four
year starter at nearby General McLane High School.
Forwards
Returning forwards Angie de Almeida and Ashley Pulman,
both juniors, were the top two scorers a year ago. Both earned
first team All-PSAC West honors. After scoring 4 goals as a
freshman, de Almeida boosted her totals to 8 goals and 5 assists
to lead the Scots with 21 points while starting all 19 matches.
Pulman was named the PSAC West Rookie of the
Year in 2004, and is now a two-time first team All-PSAC West
selection. She finished with 7 goals and 3 assists for 17 points,
but suffered through an up-and-down campaign marred with minor
injuries. She would play in just 14 matches.
Kagiavas looks for even more offensive
production from de Almeida and Pulman, but realizes someone else
must step up. That person may be Janelle Layton, a junior
who came off the bench to play in 15 contests last year. She
scored one goal. |
