Ottawa Fury News Release - www.ottawafury.com
Friday, September 28, 2012
OTTAWA, Ont. - More than two-thirds of the Fury Youth Academy grads playing in the NCAA are female players and we’ve highlighted their development and successes over the past several years that has seen many of them reach an even higher standard of play. This rise in development is best highlighted by W-League all-star goalkeeper and team captain Jasmine Phillips as well as Canadian international striker Christina Julien. Today we highlight seven graduates that could very well became regular names in the future with the Fury W-League and Canadian national teams.
Lauren Hughes has always garnered plenty of attention boasting an on-field presence of both physical stature and consistent scoring ability. To no surprise her she is turning heads in her freshman year at Rice University. Certainly an early front-runner for rookie of the year, the striker that was named MVP of the 2010 Super Y-League North American Finals is shouldering a good chunk of the offense for the Owls. Hughes, alongside fellow freshman Holly Hargreaves, have combined to score 11 of the team’s 12 goals this season with the Ottawa native notching five goals and one assist. Her offensive ability was on display this past Sunday when Hughes scored the first two goals against SMU and set up Hargreaves for the late game-winner as Rice won 3-2 to improve to 3-0-1 in their past four games after a 2-4-1 start to the season. The win now moves Rice into a first-place tie atop Conference USA.
At South Carolina State, Morgan Roesler has started all 12 games this season for the 6-6-0 Bulldogs and picked a great time to score her second goal of the season on Sunday with a shot in the 73rd minute to send SC State past Prairie View A&M 1-0. Since joining the Bulldogs in 2009, Roesler has started every game and has been a constant in the SC State back four. Now in her senior year, Roesler in looking to improve on last season’s career high of two goals, which the defender already has to date.
If perfection at the goalkeeping position is defined as not surrendering any goals then consider Elizabeth Foody just that, perfect. Through six games this season at Middlebury College, Foody is an impressive 5-0-1 with six clean sheets. The Ottawa native has made 28 saves inside her first six starts this season and has shutout streak more than 570 minutes. For the past two years Foody has served as the understudy to Jocelyn Remmert, but despite 2012 being Remmert’s senior year, Foody has earned the starting role and with her numbers and is unlikely to relinquish it. She was also named this week’s NESCAC Player of the Week award and is the only goalkeeper in the NCAA with over twenty shots on net who has a GAA of 0.
Defender Emma Donnelly has been a mainstay in the University of Hartford’s defence all season long. A starter in her freshman year, Donnelly was clutch this past weekend in helping her side to a pair of shutout wins. In fact, the Hawks are 3-0-1 in their past four games surrendering no goals during the span and have only allowed one goal in their last six. With a record of 5-2-3, Donnelly’s coaches have been very pleased with the freshman defender and know that she has been a key factor in their early season success.
After a rocky 0-3-0 start to the season at Dominican College, captain Jade Fletcher has helped turn the team around. Since arriving at Dominican four years ago, Fletcher has played every minute of every game. She has helped the young side find its rhythm over the past few weeks. The Chargers picked up a pair of wins on the weekend to improve to 3-1-0 in their past four games. It’s still early for the young Chargers side, but Fletcher has proved a calming influence in her second year as captain.
Another freshman having a standout season is Marissa Duguay at Memphis University. Duguay, who was part of the Fury U17 girls team that captured the 2010 Super Y-League North American Finals championship, is one of the two starting center-backs for the Tigers and the rookie is playing like a seasoned vet. Duguay’s play was paramount this past weekend in a 2-1 overtime win against Central Florida, the Tigers’ first-ever win against a top-10 foe, as well as in a 5-2 win against Southern Miss. Her impressive play was recognized earlier this week as she was named CollegeSoccer360.com’s Primetime Performer.Through nine games the Tigers are 6-3-0 and have outscored the opposition 25-16.
Another member of Ottawa’s U17 Super Y-League North American Championship winning side from 2010, goalkeeper Rachelle Beanlands is having a superb season at the University of Maryland. The Terps, ranked No. 17 in the nation, picked up an impressive 2-2 draw against No. 4 Duke on Thursday and did one better on Sunday downing No. 15 Wake Forest 2-1. Maryland is now 7-2-2 with Beanlands holding a record of 7-2-1 with one shutout and surrendering only nine goals in 10 starts.
