New Head Coach, Laura Duncan, will look to continue to move the Lady Chargers in the right direction, up the Northeast-10 conference standings. Duncan arrives from Fairfield University, where she was an assistant for five years. She inherits a team that clawed their way into the conference tournament and then suffered a close loss to eventual champ, St. Rose.
The Lady Chargers will return most of their starting line –up from last season. Goalkeeper Kim Taylor will be entering her third season as a starter. The junior will be looking to continue to establish her self as one of the top goalkeepers in the Northeast 10. Ranking sixth in goals against last season, Taylor is already one of the top keepers in the conference and will lead a veteran back end for the Chargers. The Chargers were in the top ten in goals against average last season, ranking sixth, with a 1.12 GAA. With most of the defense returning this year, one can expect those numbers to stay the same, if not get better. The defense will be lead by Claire Siekaniec, a 2009 Northeast 10 conference third team selection, and Carly Yamauchi, Ali Esponal, and Holly Michaud, with Mary Kitsis coming off the bench. The defense also welcomes in freshmen Amanda Hathaway from Stillwater, NY.
The offense will continue to rely on senior Emily Buckley-Matura. With coach Duncan’s offensive style of being a possession attacking one, the mid-field will be relied on a little more this season. The loss of transfers Alexa DellaRocco and Marta Bertsos will be greatly felt and missed. Alexa was a top offensive threat along side Buckley-Matura and Marta was able to carry the ball from the middle field into the attacking thud to help. But the Chargers will be able to fill these voids with returning players playing bigger roles and newcomers providing added spark off the bench, if needed. More will be asked of Lauren Primovic and Shannon Morales, as they enter their sophomore campaigns. Meabh De Burca will be also looked to for some added offensive punch from the mid-field along with Holly Dawson. Two transfers that will also give added depth and experience to the midfield are Danielle Iacono, Merriack, NY via Nassau C.C. and Brenna Weidman, Holliston, MA via Utica College, along with six other freshmen along the front and mid-field lines.
The Lady Chargers were preseason picked 11th in the Northeast 10 conference, coming off a 10-7-3 season. A .500 season in year one under Laura Duncan will be a good start to keep the momentum going from last year. The Chargers will look to pick up where they left off last season and get back to the conference playoffs to make some noise there. New Haven opens their season on the road at Dominican College on September 3. Their home opener will be Sunday September 5, against Post University.
