The big news for the Cornell women’s soccer program this summer was the changes to its coaching staff. On May 16, head coach Danielle LaRoche announced that Megan Ramey would be the new assistant coach for the Red. Ramey graduaded from Western Michigan in 2002, where she was an all-conference goalkeeper. Since then, she has gained extensive coaching experience, spending two years as a recruiting coordinator and coaching goaltenders at Washington College in Chestertown, Md. Ramey not only served as an assistant coach, but also obtained a Master’s degree from the school.
The newest member of the Red also spent a year as an assistant coach at her alma mater before moving on to coach Texas State in San Marcos, Texas, where she stayed for five years as the top assistant coach and worked mainly with goalkeepers and defenders. Ramey was also the team’s recruiting coordinator. Over the past three years, Ramey led the Bobcats to at least 12 wins in each season, as well as to two undefeated regular seasons and an impressive run in the 2008 NCAA tournament. Ramey is replacing Elke Reisdorph, who left the Red in April to serve as the head coach at Marietta College in Ohio.
On Aug. 16, the Red named Danielle Plourde an assistant coach for the women’s team, as well. Plourde will be reunited with LaRoche, who was her assistant coach when she played at Binghamton. Plourde, a midfield attacker, was captain of Binghamton’s soccer team for three years and led the team to its first-ever NCAA tournament. The former Bearcat was also a first-team all-conference selection in 2004 and helped Binghamton to an America East title as a senior. Off the pitch, Plourde has a background in school counseling — she is state certified in Wyoming and Colorado.
The men’s soccer team is also gearing up for the 2011 season, with a tough schedule ahead for the Red. Cornell’s men’s squad will play four teams that advanced to the NCAA tournament last year — Penn, Brown, Princeton and Dartmouth. The Red has nine home games on its schedule, while three away games will also be played nearby in New York State.
This year, the Red and the Raiders will host the inaugural Cornell-Colgate Tournament on Sept. 16 and 18. Both squads will hold a match on Friday, and the teams will switch opponents on Sunday.
Cornell will face Penn on Oct. 1 in its Ivy League opener, but hosts only two other games against conference foes this season — Harvard and Columbia. On Sept. 9 the Red will head to Oneonta, N.Y. for the Mayor’s Cup. The season kicks off on Sept. 2 with a home game against Niagara.
Original Author: Dani Abada