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FAU Prepares for Season Opener
 Training Camp Underway at
FAU’s Boca Raton campus
BOCA RATON, FL (August 12, 2009) – The Florida Atlantic University women’s
soccer team has opened its fall training camp in preparation for the 2009
season. With the first match less than two weeks away, the team is
practicing twice daily. Training sessions began Friday, August 7 and will
continue through Saturday, August 22.
“Competition is the main focus of our camp right now,” said FAU Head Coach
Brian Dooley. “We are doing a lot of 7-on-7 work, fitness training and
recovery exercises.”
Dooley enters the season ranked 25th among active NCAA Division I coaches in
career winning percentage. Dooley guided FAU to an Atlantic Sun Conference
(A-SUN) Championship in 2005 prior to the athletic department’s move into
the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) in 2006.
“We’ve always competed technically,” said Dooley. “However to win this
league we needed to get bigger, faster, stronger. I think we’ve hit on that
with our recruiting class so the potential is there to have our best year
ever.”
Fueled by two of the most talented front-line players in the league - senior
all-conference forward Ashley Mannarino and the league’s “Newcomer of the
Year” Laura Hyvonen - FAU was within one game of playing for the SBC title a
year ago.
Historically a defensive-oriented side, the Owls are hoping to find some
additional goal scorers to complement Mannarino and Hyvonen who accounted
for nearly half of the total offensive production in 2008. Before
reeling-off a five-match win streak last October - thanks largely to four
game-winners by Mannarino - the team had suffered through a four-match
scoreless draught in late September.
“We have to have four players scoring goals for us,” said Dooley. “An
x-factor for us will be finding that additional production up front.”
Dooley and eighth-year Assistant Coach Chris Gnehm expect an immediate
impact from its freshmen class, including 5-foot-8 forward Jessica Vickrey,
who will factor into the front-line rotation, along with returning starter
Sonia Richards. Four new defenders have also been added to strengthen the
backfield along with three freshmen goalkeepers.
“We’ve tried to add size,” said Dooley about the incoming class. “The
physical aspect of the game has been stressful for us since joining the Sun
Belt. While we were in the recruiting process, from the defensive side we
wanted to get bigger and better in the air, dealing with crosses, defensive
corners and free kicks driven into the box. We needed to improve there. If
someone didn’t show dominance in the air, they fell off our list.”
The added depth will allow junior Janelle Blake to return to a more natural
role in midfield. Blake was forced to play center-backfield position last
season following a series of injuries which decimated the lineup. Starters
Janeke Simpkins, Anhnhi Tran, Meghan Brown, Brittany Comer and Hyvonen all
missed significant time.
"Last year was such a crazy year for us," said Blake. "But we learned how
important the right mindset and right approach is to winning games. It
shows; our training has taken on extra focus."
If the Owls can stay healthy, its tough, early-season schedule (at Georgia,
vs. Clemson, Ole Miss, Arkansas) should prepare them to challenge for the
Sun Belt title in November, especially considering the postseason tournament
will be played on the Owls’ home field on FAU’s Boca Raton campus.
“We all worked hard this summer, especially in our training and
conditioning,” said Tran. “Camp will tell us a lot about how this team will
play together, about our team chemistry.”
The Owls will be put to the test on Sunday, August 23 at 4 p.m. when they
open the season against the University of Stetson at the FAU Soccer Complex,
777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. For tickets or more information, call
1-866-FAU-OWLS.
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