Freshmen Lead the Way

FAU Womens Soccer Freshmen Lead the Way for Team
Meghan Brown, Jamie Greany and Ashley Lantes talk about freshman seasons

The future is now for the Florida Atlantic University women's soccer team, as it relies on the play of its freshmen class to help qualify for next month's Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Championships.

The Owls have 16 freshmen on their roster and at any given time can have seven of the 11 positions on the pitch occupied by players just a year removed from playing high school soccer at this time last year. FAU has compiled a 5-10-2 record for the season and 3-5 mark in conference action.

Head Coach Brian Dooley challenged his young team in the non-conference portion of its schedule and wanted to get the freshmen some game action.

"Going into the season we were hoping to get 5-6 players some significant playing time in a contributory role," said Dooley. "That's why early on we struggled because they were playing a lot of minutes against quality competition and asking the freshmen to make an impact without the proper adjustment period."

But for starting goalkeeper Ashley Lantes and forwards Meghan Brown and Jamie Greany they wouldn't want it any other way.

"The transition has been a big difference like night and day from high school because the pace of play is faster than in high school," said Lantes. "The practices and preseason really helped me get prepared for this season."

Lantes did not have much time to think about what college life was all about as the Clermont native got the start in the season-opener against Stetson University on August 23.

"I was so nervous during warm ups, with butterflies, but I talked to some of the seniors and they gave me some great advise," said Lantes. "It was a bad experience but at the same time a good experience as I got all the nerves out of the way early on. I was literally shaking in my boots."

Unlike Lantes, Brown and Greany had to wait a little longer to make an impact for the program as injuries setback their development.

"I came in last year expecting to play, but my injury set everything back," said Brown, who has scored three goals in the last four matches. "I was a little nervous at the beginning of this season because I haven't played in over a year. But it feels good to do something positive when I wasn't expecting to have as much of an impact on the team."

Greany missed the first six games of the season after sustaining an injury in the preseason.

"Jamie is kind of an open book with amazing talent, she's a competitive kid but has had a tough transition with health concerns," said Dooley. "She right now is reaching midseason form when it is the end of the season. So we are hoping that as we look to finish the season strong she will be at the top of her game."

That form was exhibited when she accounted for all four goals in FAU's 4-1 conference victory over the University of Louisiana-Monroe on October 9. She scored the game winner and added three assists in the match.

"I was in shape and ready to play but had to shut it down after the injury," said Greany. "I had to work hard to get back out on the field and help the team anyway I could."

Brown, a redshirt freshman from Davie, has seen her minutes increase and has seized the opportunity. "Getting the playing time on the field has helped me get into a rhythm and I am trying to do what the coaching staff is asking me to do," she said.

The comfortable feeling on the pitch was evident in the team's most recent road trip when the Owls swept two league matches. Brown scored the game winning goal on October 16 against Troy University - a win that was significant in the Owls' hopes of securing one of the eight stops available for the conference tournament. The forward then followed it up with a goal two days later in a 2-1 victory at the University of South Alabama.

Greany, a forward from Bozeman, Montana, has had to make the adjustment to college life nearly 2,500 miles away from home.

"My hometown is big for Montana but compared to South Florida it is small," said Greany. "I am not use to seeing multimillion dollars houses one after the other like in Boca, or fancy cars. The heat and humidity was a change for me, but I'm just getting adjusted to it."

Lantes has been in goal in all five FAU victories this season and leads the SBC in saves per match (8.00) during conference play. She ranks second in the league in saves (56). The goalkeeper has recorded eight or more saves on eight occasions and has posted three shutouts this season.

However, she didn't know what to expect heading into her freshman campaign after battling some injuries after high school.

"I had shoulder surgery in the summer and really expected to be redshirted," said Lantes. "I was just hoping to make the travel squad and did not expect to be the starting keeper. It was a total shock."

Dooley expects the freshmen to continue to grow as players and build from the prior experiences.

"We knew that this freshmen class was going to have a big role," said Dooley. "And through the transition of the game, such as the physical nature, is still something they are learning. But lately we are starting to see better results from them." Dooley hopes the freshmen can gain the experience of a conference tournament appearance this weekend with a pair of victories.

********************** In their own words

On the senior advise:

"They said that mistakes happen and that nobody is perfect," said Lantes. "It is how you learn from those mistakes that will help you improve for time that you put in that situation."

"All the girls on the team are really nice and bring you into the atmosphere of a team," said Brown.

On getting over giving up a goal:

"It is a lot harder than what it sounds," said Lantes, jokingly. "It takes a lot of mental practice and you just move on from it. It is still hard to do but I'm learning."

On scoring a goal:

"It is an amazing feeling to score a goal especially at the collegiate level," said Brown.

On the difference to college soccer:

"The speed of the game is faster and the girls are bigger so you can't rest at all when out on the field," said Brown.

"It is a lot more demanding and you have to be very dedicated," said Greany.

On team chemistry:

"We pretty much are together 24/7 and eating at the same table in the dorms, watching a movie," said Greany. "It does build some chemistry."

On transiting life to South Florida:

"This is definitely a transition because I am not use to the hot and humidity," said Greany. "I am from a big town in Montana but when compared to here it is small. Not use to seeing multimillion dollar homes next to one another and fancy cars."

So, what does these freshman think of each other?

Meghan Brown

"Meghan has one of the most wicked shots on the team and it is hard to stop," said Lantes. "She works very hard and she keeps the team in positive spirits all the time."

"Meghan is a very strong player with a strong and accurate shot," stated Greany. "She plays in the middle and battles the opposition and wins a lot of 50-50 balls. She is a talented player."

Ashley Lantes

"Ashley has really stepped up for us lately when we needed her," said Brown. "We scored to get ahead last weekend in the first game {1-0 win over Troy on October 16} and she was able to make that lead hold up even though we panicked at times."

"Ashley has grown from day one and is a tough kid," said Greany. "She has become more vocal and tells us where to be if we are out of position. If you don't know where to be Ashley will tell you. She has definitely saved us more than once this year."

Jamie Greany

"That girl is a trooper because she can be in so much pain but can make a 120-yard-sprint just to get to the ball," said Lantes. "I have never seen anyone play that hard before and it is an awesome experience to be playing with people like that. You want to play that much harder to help them out."

"She's a character who is very fast," said Brown. "She has the potential to be really, really good, and when's she healthy she has the capability of being a major factor."

Coach Dooley

"We knew that this freshmen class was going to have a big role," said Dooley. "And through the transition of the game, such as the physical nature, is still something they are learning. But lately we are starting to see better results from them."

"Ashley in goal had a great weekend for us, Meghan has scored a couple goals and Jamie has been dangerous on the attack and they just have a better feel on the offensive end."

"Jamie is kind of an open book with amazing talent. She's a competitive kid but has had a tough transition by missing the first six games with health concerns. She right now is reaching midseason form when it is the end of the season. So we are hoping that as look to finish the season strong she will be at the top of her game."

"She was brought in here to compete for a job and she came in ready and showed that she deserved to be the number one goalkeeper," said Dooley. "As a freshman you can sometimes just be in the game, but Ashley has been out there physically and mentally in the game. Her positioning in the last four matches has been excellent and she made some big saves for us in picking up the two wins last weekend."

"You could see that Meghan had a natural talent of being in the right position and has a good shot from 35 yards out," said Dooley. "The injury last year set her back obviously and when she was fully ready to get on the field we were a few games into the season."

"Going into the season we were hoping to get 5-6 players some significant playing time in a contributory role," said Dooley. "That's why early on we struggled because they were playing a lot of minutes against quality competition and ask freshman to make an impact without the proper adjustment period."