August 31, 2007

W. Soccer Battles Hofstra, St. John’s

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The women’s soccer team is heading to New York City this weekend, as the Red kicks its season off at 7 p.m. tonight at Hofstra University. Danielle LaRoche is making her coaching debut against the Pride this evening, and will follow it up with a Sunday afternoon contest against the Red Storm of St. John’s.
Coming off a 3-13-1 (1-6 Ivy) year, Cornell is looking to get off to a hot start. Senior midfielder Mariye Wick is confident about the squad’s preparations and is looking forward to her final season here.
“I think that this year, the whole tone [of preseason] was set very differently. We’ve worked really hard and we’re going to have a very good season.”
According to Wick, the transition into the new coaching staff went very well. The team rededicated itself to training and believes it can make some noise in the Ivy’s this year.
“In the past, we didn’t take ourselves quite as seriously and weren’t willing to work as hard as we needed to. We’ve worked hard to earn our confidence and I think that we can surprise a few teams this year.”
With seven returning seniors, including All-Ivy defender Leslie Campbell, the Red will have its work cut out for itself against two strong squads. Hofstra is ranked No. 4 in the Northeast Region according Soccer Buzz magazine, while St. John’s comes in right behind them at No. 5.
“Hofstra is expecting to beat us tomorrow, I think, but we’ve prepared well for this game” Wick said.
The three-year letter-winner from Bellevue, Washington, added that this year’s schedule is much more manageable in the early going, which should keep the team fresh for the beginning of the league schedule.
“We have a much more competitive schedule this year,” she said. “And we’re looking to come out and surprise some people.”