MILTON, Mass. – Next fall, the Colonels' women's soccer team will compete in 19 regular-season games, playing 10 Commonwealth Coast Conference games and 9 non-league games. The season opener will be on the road in Vermont at Johnson State on Tuesday September 1st.
In 2014 the Colonels will play 10 home games and 9 on the road. In addition to Johnson State, Curry will play newly added non-conference games against Suffolk University, Clark University, and Maine Maritime. Other non-conference opponents will include Rhode Island College, Mt. Ida, Lyndon State, Emmanuel, and Newbury. The Colonels will host UMass Dartmouth and Norwich in a 3 team preseason scrimmage on Wednesday August 26th at Katz Field.
Coach Jason Tassinari will be entering his fourth season at the helm of the Curry Women's Soccer Team, having improved the team's overall record by three games in his first season in 2012, guiding the Colonels to a CCC tournament berth in 2013, and winning 11 games in 2014, the most wins since 2008. Curry just missed out on post season play in 2014.
"My coaching staff and I are excited about the direction the program is headed, and are very much looking forward to building on the success of the previous 3 seasons. Every year our talent level has improved, and I expect that trend to continue this fall. We have a very young team that consists of many returning players who have been part of a winning culture the past few years. We also have a great group of seniors that will help us continue to build on our program's recent success."
Coach Taz has named sophomore Karyn Colomey (Norwood, MA), and juniors Kendall Fox (Dartmouth, MA) and Taylor Evans (Middleton, MA) as his 2015 captains. Evans will be entering her second season as a captain, and Colomey will be the second junior in the program's history to be named captain of the program (Evans was the first junior captain in 2014). The program will have a junior captain in 2 consecutive seasons.
"Karyn, Kendall, and Taylor are all great representatives of Curry, the athletic department, the program, the community, the coaching staff, and their teammates. Each one is hard-working and care deeply about the current and future success of the program. Most importantly, they are solid students, solid citizens, and great role models. Deciding on captains is never an easy task, especially when I have so many great candidates to choose from. It's a good problem for any coach to have, however."
In addition to the 3 captains, Coach Tassinari will be relying heavily on his other 3 seniors (Mary Blythe, Elizabeth Barbarisi, and Kelsey O'Brien) to provide solid leadership on and off the field as well.
"Although we have 3 captains, we truly have 6 'leaders'. All six of my seniors will be responsible to model the way for the younger the players in the program. In addition to my captains, I will be relying heavily on Mary, Lizzy and Kelsey to lead the program as well. I firmly believe that leadership is not a title, it's an attitude…it's action not position. All of them will work collectively as a unified group to help keep the team emotionally invested and constantly focused on the goals we have set for the short and long terms."
"Karyn, Taylor and Kendall all have important qualities that will make them great captains", Tassinari said. "They all have a warrior mentality that we love in this program. They're always prepared, willing to battle, and don't make excuses. They are proactive, responsible and accountable. I've had a great connection with them since they first arrived at Curry, and I trust them fully to be great extensions of the coaching staff. Karyn is a quiet leader who sets a great example by her work-rate, passion and consistency in games and practices. She has wonderful intangibles that often times go unnoticed because she's a defender and has a quiet low-key demeanor. Kendall's soccer intellect and technical skill is outstanding. She's a student of the game, and is one of the most competitive players I've ever coached. Kendall has done a tremendous job battling back from a knee injury her freshman year to become one of the top defenders in the program. Taylor has always been the team's engine and inspirational leader since the first day she walked into this program. She plays hurt, she constantly sacrifices, and she plays with an edge that rubs off on her teammates. She's one of the most versatile players I've ever coached, and is able to do a lot of things on the field well. She was a great captain her junior year, and I expect her to be even better in 2015."
The program is only graduating 4 seniors from their 2014 roster (Danielle Kent, Deanna McMahon, Stefanie Faucher, and Meredith Keith).
"Success never comes easily", says Coach Tassinari. "It's going to take every player on the roster and all of us on the coaching staff to continue the re-building process that we successfully started 3 years ago. All my returning players understand what it takes to be successful student-athletes, not only individually, but collectively as well. They also recognize the importance of solid team chemistry and how it affects our on-field performance. We play in a very tough conference, but I am confident that my team is prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. With the infusion of an impactful group of new and exciting freshmen and a solid group of returners, I think we will make even more progress in 2015. Small, slow steps forward are certainly better than going backwards, and everyone associated with this program know that we are headed in the right direction. It's a great time to be a Colonel."
