Amy Savage was one of the women's soccer teams best player last year as only a freshman. She should be an even bigger threat as a sophomore.

Despite a 2-14-1 record in 2010 the women’s soccer team actually showed a lot of improvement from their 2-14-1 record in 2009.

This year there should be even more improvement and saying the team could compete for that final spot in the six-team America East tournament wouldn’t be wrong at all.

Last year the women’s soccer team got big contributions from their freshmen: Jessy Brown, Lauren Kadet, Amy Savage, Stephanie Smith, and Nichole Clark. The defense also played to a level that kept them in contention most of their games.

Unfortunately Clark is not returning to the team, two of the team’s top defenders graduated, and another will be out all of this season after suffering a bad neck injury in the spring that nearly ended her career.

But all is not lost, Aly Gazarek and Kelsi Morris are two upper classmen set to lead the back line and both senior Mo Van Vlerah and Kadet are very capable goalkeepers that led the America East in saves in consecutive years, respectively.

The question is who will step into those spots as center back that Christine Sadowski, Erin Johnson, and Gitlin played so well in. Morris and Gazarek could certainly move inside but junior Sarah Purdum, sophomore Shannon McGuinness, and freshmen Estelle Bol, Melissa Hummel, and Morgan Taylor will all be in the mix. Taylor was named to the Elite Clubs National League Under-17 All-Event Team at the ECNL/PDA College Showcase earlier this summer and may be the front runner to take one of those two spots.

Now the question is who is going to put the ball in the net. Last year the team only scored 13 goals all season and six of them are gone with the losses of Clark, Vacarino, and Sadowski.

Savage, a sophomore midfielder, is definitely going to be a threat on offense. Last season Savage was named to the America East All-Rookie team after scoring two goals and two assists and finishing tied for the most points among Retrievers. While she played mostly midfield this year she could move up if she continues to prove to be one of the team’s best offensive threats.

But the team is also loaded with three very experienced forwards, who have been plagued by bad luck more than anything. Seniors LeAnne Edgar, who may move back to midfield, and Brooke Piper have both shown offensive ability at points in their career but both have struggled to score, combining for only three career goals. Meanwhile, junior Rachel McKee is fearless when it comes to shooting the ball but has only scored one in each of her two seasons at UMBC.

Early on those three veterans, along with Savage, will be called on to get the job done. They all have the awareness and experience to lead a successful Retriever offense but time will have to tell if years of bad luck (hitting the cross bar, having the opposing goalkeepers making tremendous saves, just missing the net, etc.) has taken their toll on them.

But the team still has plenty of other weapons too. Junior Sarah Kopytko has played in 26 games in her career at UMBC and netted her lone career goal last season.

Brown and Smith should both continue to provide the team with quality play and should be even better now that they have a year under their belts.

Freshmen Lilly Rydon, a member of the 2008 U-17 Australian National Team, Alyssa Brummitt, a two-time all-state honorable mention from Maryland, and Paige Preston, a first-team All-District and All-Division and second-team All-County and All-Shore selection in 2010 from New Jersey, should all be in the mix on offense as well.

The women’s soccer team kicks off their season on August 18 at 4 p.m. on the road at American before hosting Campbell on August 21 at 1 p.m. for their home opener. The women’s soccer team will host nine games this season and will plan eight more on the road.

UMBC, who didn’t score in their four games prior, essentially walked onto the field with a two goal deficit. While the Retrievers were able to score their first goal in five tries when Nicole Clark stole the ball in the middle of the box and flicked it over the goalie into the top left corner.

Lauren Kadet made seven saves while Erin Johnson, Sandra Vacarino, and Christine Sadowski all played in their final games on UMBC’s home turf but will have two more games to try and qualify for their first appearance in the America East Conference tournament.

But the strong defensive effort just wasn’t enough as once again, the team’s offense struggled. UMBC failed to score a goal for the second third straight game and have been outscored 33-10, with seven of their goals coming against Vermont.

UMBC did have a few chances. But they couldn’t finish. Nicole Clark hit a ball just wide in the 16th minute, and Sandra Vacarino had a shot that Maine keeper Meagan Price-Leibenzeder had to dive to save. The team matches Maine’s seven shots for the game but could not match, or better their score.

Nichole Clark scored her first career goal against Vermont in a 2-0 win.

The women’s soccer team had just one win going into conference opening game, and were coming off eight straight winless games. But against Vermont the team showed that the past is the past with a 2-0 victory over the Catamounts.

Freshman goalkeeper Lauren Kadet recorded eight saves in her first collegiate win and the team’s first shutout of the season.

Vermont managed to outshoot UMBC 12-9, but Kadet’s presence negated all of those shots.

After going into the half with a nil-nil game the Retrievers managed just two shots after the break. But they made both count. Just 43 seconds into the second half Nicole Clark and Brooke Piper teamed up on a give-n-go in the box, and Clarke was able to flick the ball into the upper left corner of the goal.

Ten minutes later senior Sandra Vacarino knocked in a header off a free kick taken by fellow senior Christine Sadowski.

While Vermont went into the match with just a single in on their record as well, it is a win, and a well deserved one at that. I say it all the time, but it’s true, at this level the only games that really matter are conference games. UMBC may only be 2-7-1, but improved down the stretch in their non-conference games and are proving to be ready for their conference matches, where historically three wins can get a team into the six team tournament.

Campbell is a tough team, and went 9-9-2 last year. This year, like UMBC, they’ve played three games and are 1-2, so they aren’t unbeatable. Campbell’s defense has given up just three goals so far, but showed their weaknesses- outside shots. One goal game off a corner, one game from a blast outside the box, and the other was off a post rebound following a shot from outside the box.

If UMBC just pressures Campbell’s goalie with long shots eventually they can break them. But the key for UMBC will be to stop their shots. UMBC has given up five goals in three games, three of which game against Longwood. What would really help UMBC would be the return of Erin Johnson. Johnson suffered through some minor injuries in the preseason, but apparently it it taking longer than expected for her to come back from them. She was expected back against Drexel but still hasn’t seen the field. If she comes back against Campbell it will certainly be a big boost for the UMBC defense.

Probably Starters:

North Carolina native Morgan Andrews

UMBC (1-2):
F- LeAnne Edgar (1 goal, 0 assists, 3 SOG)
F- Rachel McKee (0 goals, 0 assists, 3 SOG)
M- Jessy Brown (0 goals, 1 assist, 1 SOG)
M- Sandra Vacarino (1 goal, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
M- Katie Gitlin (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 SOG, played defense the last three games)
M- Amy Savage (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 SOG)
B- Aly Gazarek (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
B- Erin Johnson (Has not played)
B- Christine Sadowski (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
B- Kelsi Morris (0 goals, 1 assists, 0 SOG)
GK- Lauren Kadet (18 saves, 4 ga, 81.8%)

Key Reserves:
F- Brooke Piper (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Stephanie Smith (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Sarah Kopytko (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Shannon McGuinness (1 goal, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
M- Morgan Andrews (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Nicole Clark (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 SOG)
M- Sarah Purdum (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)

Campbell (1-2):
F- Olga Ekblom (0 goals, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
F- Pirko Leppikangas (1 goal, 0 assists, 5 SOG)
M- Ashley Wagner (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Kirsty Meyer (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Caitlin Schneider (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
M- Marisa Muller (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
B- Jeannie Borda (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
B- Taylor Brown (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
B- Kaili Terry (1 goal, 1 assists, 1 SOG)
B- Cissy Nitz (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
GK- Jamie Panfil (8 saves, 2 ga, 80.0%)

Key Reserves:
F- Annabelle Gibney (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
M- Taylor Viniarski (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
D- Hilliary Gupton (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
D- Anna Lindblad (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)

Junior goalkeeper Mo Van Vlerah is currently in a very interesting position battle with freshman Lauren Kadet.

Longwood may be just 0-2 to start the season, but they are a much better team than their record. Last year the Lancers went 9-8-1, and return most of the key players from that campaign, including a strong senior class of goalkeeper Marcia Biddle, defenders Kayle Huggins, Katie Devlin, and Lauren Trizna, and forward Jessica Varela.

With three seniors across the back line, and a senior in goal, Longwood has a stingy defense. But what really helps them out in this game is that they will be playing at home, where they are 27-9-1 since 2006.

UMBC can certainly win the game. The team already has four goals this season and have been more aggressive and confident, when in possession with the ball. Last year the women’s soccer team, when they had control, always took to long to take a shot, wasting opportunities to take shots to try and set up better shots. Sometimes that can be a good move, but this year the team is taking their chances and already has 23 shots in just two games, nine of which were on target.

One big boost to the team could be the return of senior defender Erin Johnson. She was held out of he first two games after suffering some minor preseason injuries, and is expected to be back for this game. Johnson is a very talented and experienced center back. She came right in her freshman year and started every game en route to an All-Rookie Team selection. In three years she has played in every game (54) and has started 52 of them.

The other story line that deserves special attention is the goal keeper battle between junior Mo Van Vlerah and freshman Lauren Kadet, who have been battling for the starting job all preseason. Van Vlerah started every game last year, and despite being stormed by shots ever game, was very successful. She started the season and wasn’t faced with much action, but saved three shots while conceding a goal. But coach Alyssa Radu made a surprise change for the second game, starting Kadet. And Kadet had a stellar debut. It was ashame she didn’t have any offensive help, as she lost the game 1-0, but she saved 11 shots, which is impressive for a collegiate debut to say the least.

Probably Starters:

Jessy Brown is one of the freshman who has already become an impact player.

UMBC (1-1):
F- LeAnne Edgar (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
F- Rachel McKee (0 goals, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
M- Jessy Brown (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 SOG)
M- Sandra Vacarino (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
M- Katie Gitlin (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG, played defense the last two games)
M- Morgan Andrews (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
B- Aly Gazarek (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
B- Erin Johnson (Has not played)
B- Christine Sadowski (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
B- Kelsi Morris (0 goals, 1 assists, 0 SOG)
GK- Lauren Kadet (11 saves, 1 ga, 91.7%)

Key Reserves:
F- Brooke Piper (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Amy Savage (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 SOG)
M- Nicole Clark (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 SOG)
M- Sarah Purdum (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
GK- Mo Van Vlerah (3 saves, 1 GA, 75.0%)

Longwood (0-1):
F- Lindsey Ottavio (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
F- Lindsay Booth (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Kelsey Pardue (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
M- Dylan Spicker (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Jessica Varela (0 goals, 1 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Katie Devlin (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
B- Kacie Oliver (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
B- Natalie Massey (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
B- Kayla Huggins (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
B- Lauren Trizna (1 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
GK- Marcia Biddle (11 saves, 3 ga, 78.6%)

Key Reserves:
F- Nikki Glisson (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
M- Lindsay Wilshaw (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Kristi Dixon (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Mackenzie King (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)

Sandra Vacarino

The women’s soccer team won their first season opener since 1998 with an impressive 4-1 victory over Delaware State. Leading the charge for UMBC was senior midfielder Sandra Vacarino with one goal and one assists. Vacarino led the team with four goal and two assists last season and picked up right were she left off in 2009. She got the team’s first goal in the sixth minute of the game when she blasted a shot into the far low corner. Just four minutes later she got the ball over two LeAnne Edgar for the first goal of her career, and the team’s second goal.

Stat Line:
Delaware State: 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 shots, 1 shot on goal
Drexel: 2 shots

Rachel McKee

You can’t take credit away from the women’s soccer team for opening their season with a because Delaware State just honestly wasn’t a great team because all they could do was beat the opposition at hand. But it will be harder to get a win on the road against Drexel, who is playing their season opener, in their second game.

This is going to be an interesting game. Drexel did only win four games last season, which would at first glance means UMBC had an amazing chance to get a 2-0 start. But Drexel does return every single player who scored a goal for them a season ago. While that is only 10 players who totaled just 20 goals, it means they do have players who know how to score, and what it’s like to score.

Jenna Lindsay is clearly going to be the go-to-scorer for Drexel as she was their top scorer with five goals and 11 points. The team’s second leading goal scorer, Elizabeth Matta (3 goals) is also a solid scoring option who can come off the bench and make a difference.

The Retrievers will also be going up against a good goalie, Nicole Sinclair, who saves over 72% of the shots she was faced with a season ago.

UMBC beat Delaware State by working the ball on the outside and getting it in to their scorers like Sandra Vacarino and LeAnne Edgar. You have to go with what works and likely be doing the same thing again.

If UMBC cam one again work the ball down the field with their wings and make good crosses, it very well may lead to a 2-0 start. But it won’t be easy to do. Drexel is a very young team, but at the same time they are experience as they return 12 players who started at least one game last season. They also return nine of their primary starters from last season.

Probable Starters:

UMBC (1-0):
F- Brooke Piper (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 sog)
F- Rachel McKee (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 sog)
M- Jessy Brown (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 sog)
M- Sandra Vacarino (1 goal, 1 assist, 1 sog)
M- LeAnne Edgar (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 sog)
M- Morgan Andrews (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 sog)
B- Aly Gazarek (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 sog)
B- Christine Sadowski (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 sog)
B- Katie Gitlin (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 sog)
B- Kelsi Morris (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 sog)
GK- Mo Van Vlerah (3 saves, 1 GA, 75% saves)

Key Reserves:
F- Amy Savage (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 sog)
M- Nicole Clark (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 sog)
M- Sarah Kopytko (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 sog)
M- Sarah Purdum (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 sog)
M- Shannon McGuinness (1 goal, 0 assists, 1 sog)

In their season opening game against MEAC foe Delaware State the women’s soccer team already showed they are an improved team as they blew past hornets, 4-1, breaking a 12 year streak without a season opening win. The last time the women’s soccer team won their season opener was in 1998, when they beat another MEAC team, Howard, 3-0.

But despite the team nearly scoring one third of their total goals a season ago, Coach Alyssa Radu, and her team still aren’t satisfied.

“They felt last year the play was there but they just didn’t have the results behind it,
Radu said. “You need the results to feel good and in all honesty they don’t feel that they played as well as they should have and when you still win 4-1 and still feel that way that’s something you can build on.”

Senior midfielder Sandra Vacarino led UMBC to a season opening victory over Delaware State with a goal and an assist.

Senior midfielder Sandra Vacarino opened the teams scoring with a goal in just the sixth minute of action. Pittsburgh transfer Kelsi Morris played a ball into the team’s leading scorer last year, who tapped it into the far low corner.

It didn’t take long for the team to score their second goal as Vacarino flicked a ball to LeAnne Edgar for a goal following a throw-in in the tenth minute.

“I just think we have more persistence and urgency; we’re a little more hungry this year,” Vacarino said. “We also have a good attitude this year too so that’s not going to drag us down early.”

That attitude and hunger led to an offense that ripped off 14 shots, and consistently pressured the Hornet goalkeeper, who was forced to make three saves while conceding four goals before being taken out in the 72nd minute.

“We’re a little more confident, we took more outside shots and then a couple we just slipped through and got behind them,” Vacarino said. “We also had a lot of free kicks off the corners and outside the 18 that led to a lot of our goals.”

Another one of those goals that a free kick from outside the 18 led to was from senior defender Christine Sadowski, who was voted the team’s MVP after last season.

“I was just hoping for [the ball] to take a bad bounce off someone and it did and it was right in front of the goal and I couldn’t miss it,” Sadowski said.

While Sadowski had offensive success, the team captain also helped lead her team in an impressive defensive performance where they only allowed three shots, only one of which went in the goal.

“We just wanted to keep them from getting in front of us and get high pressure, and not let them get any shots off,” Sadowski said.

Junior forward LeAnne Edgar has always been an offensive threat for UMBC, but finally scored the first goal of her career.

The team’s fourth goal came from freshman Shannon McGuinness less than a minute after Sadowski scored. McGuinness’s goal came after Jessy Brown tapped her the ball following a corner kick from Nicole Clark. All three players involved were freshman.

“I think we’re balanced in a sense that we have great leadership and you’re combining that with young, hungry, tough, physical players, technically sounds, all bringing something else to the table,” Radu said.

The leadership she was referring come from senior captains Vacarino, Sadowski, Erin Johnson, who did not play in the game, and Edgar, who is only a junior.

Radu said: “I already see times where I’m like ‘Oh my gosh how am I going to replace players like that.’

“Christine, Sandra, and Erin have logged more minutes that any player in the last four or five years and that is invaluable because now when you put them in game situations they can handle it much better and there is a lot great trust for them to do their jobs and it helps me do my job better.”

Radu also said that the team was also much deeper than in years past, which she hopes will also help with their improvement.

“When you have that leadership and a deeper team…this is the deepest team, the most talented team that I’ve had in my three years, it allows everyone’s jobs to be a little easier so you can focus on the smaller parts of the game,” she said.

With a new sense of confidence in them the team will attempt to win their second straight game to open the season in two days in Philadelphia against Drexel.

“We don’t feel that we’re a finished product,” Radu said. “We still have a lot of improvement, we’re still hungry and we know this is just one game.”

Alyssa Radu’s squad has a great chance to win their season opener for the first time in at least the last 10 years. I’m not taking any credit away from Delaware State, who the women’s soccer team’s lone non-conference win came against, but UMBC is going to be better this year. The last two years Radu did not really have much say over the schedule as contracts were already signed by the previous head coach, and Radu was not really playing with players that fit her style of play. But now is when you’ll see Radu’s style of coaching come in, and the team will have a much more favorable schedule that isn’t jam packed with Big East competition.

Mo Van Vlerah

The biggest thing for a coach when they are coming into a new team is molding the team to play into their style of coaching. Radu’s coaching style is very different that the style of former coach Tara Koleski, and now she finally has her players on the programs. Koleski recruited some very good players, in fact Sandra Vacarino, Erin Johnson, Christine Sadowski, and Mo Van Vlerah will be some of the best players on the team this year, but it takes a bit of time for those players to transition to the new coach (which they’ve all had two years to do), and with players that already fit that style around them the transition period is over.

Even Radu will tell you that her realistic goal for a team that has just five wins over the last two seasons is not a conference championship, it’s moving up into the middle of the conference and contending for a spot in the conference tournament, and that is going to be a realistic goal, but before that happens the team will have to show improvement in their season opener against Delaware State.

While the roster will most likely be changed around from last year, the team returns nine players who started at least 10 games, including top goal scorer Vacarino (4 goals, 2 assists) and goalie Van Vlerah (109 saves, 69.4% saves).

Last season Rachel McKee was able to rip off five shots on goal, and while she was unsuccessful in all of her attempts, she split the defense and found ways to pressure the defense. The odds are this year, with a better supporting case around her, she will be successful this time.

Aly Gazarek

The defense also had a stellar game as they allowed just two shots on goal in their game, allowing just one in the back of the net in the 4-1 victory.

Aly Gazarek, Megan McDonald, Elyse Bilardo, and Danielle Kell all scored in last year’s game, and while two of them are gone, the offense should still have some success as the midfield should be able to control the ball in this game.

Just for fun I will attempt to project the starting roster, though it is clear the team will make some changes after just a two win season last year.

F- LeAnne Edgar (0 goals, 1 assist, 4 SOG)
F- Rachel McKee (1 goal, 1 assist, 14 SOG)
M- Katie Gitlin (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 SOG)
M- Morgan Andrews (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Sarah Purdum (1 goal, 0 assists, 4 SOG)
M- Sandra Vacarino (4 goals, 2 assists, 8 SOG)
B- Erin Johnson (16 starts)
B- Christine Sadowski (17 starts)
B- Kelsi Morris (Transfer from Pittsburgh)
B- Aly Gazarek (17 starts)
GK- Mo Van Vlerah (109 saves, 48 GA, 69.4% Saves)
*2009 Statistics