April 13, 2011
2011 Printable Schedule
PHILADELPHIA, PA - The La Salle women's soccer team is proud to announce the signing of five freshmen for the 2011 season in addition to the release of the fall schedule. "It's a very exciting time for our program," said head coach Paul Royal.
"After the success of last year and with the newcomers we are bringing in, the ladies can't wait for the season to begin."
La Salle will begin the regular season with a regional matchup against Rutgers in Piscataway on Friday, August 19 followed up by Sunday, August 21 tilt at Delaware.
The home schedule for the Explorers will begin the following week on Friday, August 26 when city-rival Drexel visits McCarthy Stadium. Atlantic 10 play will open up with another city rival, Temple, at home on Friday, September 30.
The Explorers will have four straight home matches in conference play in late September and early October before finishing up the Atlantic 10 schedule with four straight road matches at the end of October.
La Salle won its first A-10 tournament game in program history after qualifying for last year's postseason with an 11-9-2 record, the second best record in the history of the women's soccer program.
As for the recruiting class, La Salle will bring in five freshman for the 2011 campaign, with four position players and one goalkeeper filling out the roster.
"We are very excited about this year's class," Royal said. "We are eager to continue to build on the foundation of success that we laid down a season ago."
Below is information regarding the five newest members of the women's soccer program and the pdf link to the 2011 schedule can be found above. Check back on the women's soccer homepage later this spring for the complete release of the 2011 Women's Soccer Prospectus that will include a full roster, quick facts and updated records.
Gabriella Carbone - Midfield/Forward
Hometown: East Brunswick, NJ
High School: East Brunswick
Club Team: FC Pennsylvania Strikers (2010-present); CNJSB Wild Mustangs (2007-09)
Carbone brings a wealth of experience to La Salle, including an Olympic Development Program (ODP) national championship in 2010 and a national runner-up in 2011. The East Brunswick native has been a member of the New Jersey ODP all four years of high school (2008-11) and also played on the ODP Region 1 championship team in 2009-10 and 2010-11. In 2008-09, Carbone was also a member of the ID2 US Club Select team. During her club days, Carbone was a CNJSB team captain from 2007-09 and was also the leading goal scorer and assist getter in each of those three seasons. In 2010 as a member of the FC Pennsylvania Strikers, Carbone helped lead her team to the Region 1 Finals. At East Brunswick HS, Carbone made it to the Greater Middlesex County Conference Championship all four years and advanced to the NJ high school state sectional finals in 2010-11. Individually, Carbone was the team's leading scorer in both her junior (10 goals, five assists) and senior (14 goals, four assists) seasons at East Brunswick. She was also named the Star Ledger "Player to Watch" in 2010 and was a member of the all-conference team in 2009 and 2010. Academically, Carbone was a recipient of the Silver Honor Roll from 2008-11. Off the field, she has an interest in veterinary medicine, art and design, and culinary skills.
Coach Royal: "Gabriella's flair, creativity and confidence on the ball matched with her versatility will give her an advantage in our system of play. With her outstanding ability to hold balls up and create dangerous scoring chances in the final third, she will be looked upon to help contribute to our teams' dangerous attack. We are very excited about her potential and we will be looking to her to help lead our attack this fall."
Emily Fenton - Forward/Midfield
Hometown: Woodbridge, NJ
High School: Woodbridge
Club Team: Hibernian Express (2011); East Brunswick Breakers (2009-11)
Fenton was an NSCAA East Regional All-American and a NJ Girls Soccer Association All-East Region 2 selection during her prep days. The Woodbridge native was also named to the Star Ledger all-county team and to the News Tribune all-area team all four years of high school. During Fenton's junior and senior seasons she was named elected captain by her coaches and teammates and was a member of the NJ Girls Soccer Association all-state team. Off the soccer pitch, Fenton earned varsity letters in both basketball and winter track and was a member of the National Honor Society.
Coach Royal: "We were very lucky to have spotted Emily's talents at our EGS Academy camp last summer. Emily's relentless work ethic and pride in 1v1 defending is comparable to our former Explorer, Ally Kenney. Her competitive desire and determination will be a great asset for our training environment. We're fully expecting Emily to compete for valuable playing time and take the next step in her young career."
Kelsey Haycook - Forward
Hometown: Point Pleasant, NJ
High School: Point Pleasant Boro
Club Team: Twin County Crew NJ
Haycook is a five-year member of the NJ Olympic Development Program. In 2009, the Point Pleasant native played on both the ODP Region 1 and Florida Interregional ODP teams. More recently, in 2010, Haycook competed at the ODP National Camp in California. During her prep days at Point Pleasant HS, Haycook was a member of the NJSIAA Group 3 state championship team in 2009. Haycook also scored 108 career goals at Point Pleasant and was on the Star Ledger's all-state team in 2010. In 2009, Haycook led NJ in goals with 47 and scored 81 combined goals in 2009-10. Also named the 2010 Ocean County Player of the year by the Star Ledger. Off the pitch, Haycook was a member of the National Honor Society and was a varsity basketball starter for three years while scoring 1,000 points in her hoops career.
Coach Royal: "Kelsey will bring an immediate impact to our Women's Soccer program as well as the Atlantic 10 Conference. Kelsey's development under current WPS Coach, Mike Lyons has given her the competitive fire and uncanny ability to score goals...something that is very rarely seen from a National level player her age. Kelsey has the ability to absolutely dominate players off the dribble and is also excellent with her aerial attack. We're looking for her to have as good of an offensive year as did freshmen, Renee Washington (12 goals) and Anna Dolhansky (8 goals) had last season."
Maryam Huseini - Midfield
Hometown: Skien, Norway
High School: Telemark School
Club Team: Fossum IF
Huseini will bring some international flavor to the women's soccer program and competed amongst some of the top European prep talent during her days in Norway. The Skien native was a member of the Norway U-15 National Pool in 2007, the U-16 National Pool in 2008 and competed in the U-19 National Camp in January. Huseini also played in the Ten Nations International Tournament against France and Scotland in March of 2011 and is currently in the Norwegian U-19 National Team Pool for upcoming European qualifying games.
Coach Royal: "We're very excited to have landed such an amazing international talent in Maryam. She will be added to what we believe is already one of the most talented midfield in the conference. Her exceptional ability in the open field to run at defenses as well as her awareness to connect the final pass will be an asset to our attack. We feel Maryam has the potential to not only impact our program to a Regional or National level, but also help us take the next step towards an Atlantic 10 Conference title."
Jessica Wiggins - Goalkeeper
Hometown: Acton, MA
High School: Acton-Boxborough Regional
Club Team: FC Stars of Massachusetts
Wiggins was a member of the U-17 ECNL National Championship finalist team and the U-17 Massachusetts State Cup Champion squad in 2010. During her prep days at Boxborough Regional, Wiggins was the starting goalkeeper on an undefeated squad (17-0-0) in 2009, the only undefeated squad in school history. Wiggins was also a four-year starter at Boxborough Regional and posted a 82-5-4 career record with a 0.19 GAA. In 2010, during her senior season, Wiggins helped lead her squad to a 15-2-3 record with 14 shutouts and allowed only five goals all season. Off the pitch, Wiggins likes to donate her time peer mentoring at community pre schools.
Coach Royal: "Jessica brings a wealth of big game experience to La Salle. Her ability to perform under pressure against some of the best players in the country is invaluable. With Jessica's excellent hands and shot blocking abilities, we fully expect her to develop greatly and push our already amazing goalkeeping core to the next level. Jessica will be looked upon to compete for playing time as well as adding depth with our goalkeeping unit."
