Aug. 20, 2008

BOSTON - If there is one thing to be said about the 2008 Boston University women's soccer team, it's that this squad is not content with all the extraordinary accomplishments of the 2007 campaign. The Terriers want to leave their own mark on a program that has won five America East crowns and made six NCAA appearances in the last eight years. This drive to continually do better is a major strength of the squad and a source of pride for head coach Nancy Feldman, who has nurtured the program since its inception 14 years ago as a club team to a squad consistently competing for the league title and making a splash on the national stage.

"The players on this team have expressed to me that they want to uphold the level of success we have had in the past because they feel a responsibility towards those who have come before them," said Feldman. "They have a healthy respect for what others have done while also feeling compelled to raise the bar."

This is a team that just last season finished with an 11-7-3 overall record, 6-1-1 mark in the America East, a share of the regular-season title and a second seed in the post-season conference tourney. The Terriers went on to defeat New Hampshire in the conference championship to claim the league's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, where they faced fourth-seeded Wake Forest. While BU fell by a slim 2-1 margin to the Demon Deacons, it marked the third straight year it was playing on the national stage.

No longer dominated by freshman and sophomores, Feldman will field six seniors and six juniors this year, most of whom have seen significant time on the pitch over the last two seasons. In addition, she returns 21 letter winners and nine starters.

Leading the team will be senior co-captains Elizabeth Speck and Shannon Mullen. The defenders will be charged with motivating and challenging the squad to continue to excel.

"When you look at Liz, who is a captain for a second time, and Shannon, who might be one of the most natural leaders we have ever had here, we have two captains who can motivate, challenge and even the lighten the mood when necessary," said Feldman.

GOALKEEPERS
Feldman has two very capable netminders ready to fill the void left by Christina Reuter, the 2007 America East Goalkeeper of the Year. Reuter left her mark on the program as one of its most accomplished goalies. She ranks third in career saves (147), third in career goals against average (0.77) and second in career save percentage (.831).

The lone returner is sophomore Janie Reilly, who has seen limited time over the last two seasons due to injury but in the six games she played in 2007 she shutout three opponents and allowed just three goals in 560 minutes.

"She has certainly trained at a very high level," stated Feldman. "She is a hard worker and prepared. She is not only gifted, but she has this high expectation and demand of herself to be the difference maker."

Annie Tooley, a native of Denver, Colo., will compete for time with Reilly and is a recent graduate of Mullen High School, where she was the starting goalkeeper and a member of the Colorado State High School Championship team in her final two seasons. In addition, she played four years in the Olympic Development Program (ODP) and was a member of the Colorado Nike Rush, which won the Disney Showcase in 2007 and National club title in 2008.

"Annie comes from a really good high school and club team," continued Feldman. "We brought her in because we feel she has the ability to play right away and challenge Janie on a day-to-day basis."

DEFENDERS
One the strongest returning units for the Terriers is the backline. Speck and Mullen are both two-year starters, as is junior Casey Brown. Those three are joined by sophomore Lina Cords, who immediately slipped into a starting role in her freshman campaign. With those four intact, the defense is looking to remain just as stingy as last season, if not more so. BU held foes to 13 goals and just two during the conference slate and finished the season ranked 12th in the nation in GAA (0.597).

"If you look at it on paper, you think how can they better what they did?," said Feldman. "Believe me, their goal is to better what they did. The mindset of the four returning starters is that, `We can do better. We can be tighter and we can be even stingier.'"

Speck and Mullen will patrol the outsides, while Brown and Cords will anchor the inside as the projected starters. Speck has been a solid contributor since her freshman year and has taken on the role of starter since her sophomore campaign, not missing a game since.

Mullen has mirrored Speck's achievements, sliding into a starting position as a sophomore and blossoming into a vocal leader and motivator. In addition, she is strong in the air with good size.

After a solid freshman year, Brown did not suffer from a sophomore slump last season, where she started all 21 games and earned the conference's Defender of the Year distinction and first-team honors. She also garnered National Soccer Coaches Assocation of America (NSCAA) All-Northeast Region Third Team accolades. Even though she was firmly anchored on the backline, Brown also provided offensive power, leading the team with five goals.

Cords made an impact on the team from the get-go, starting all 21 games and offering up dangerous long balls off set plays that resulted in two assists for the then-rookie. She went on to earn America East All-Rookie team honors and Soccer Buzz All-Northeast All-Freshman accolades.

Adding depth to the backline are juniors Laura Schwartz and Mikaela Hansen, as well as sophomores Lily Albin and Kara Ruggiero. Coming into camp is newcomer Michelle Kielty, a local player out of Newton, Mass., who will be a strong, physical presence in the back.

MIDFIELDERS
The versatility in the midfield is a characteristic that Feldman believes gives the Terriers an edge on their competition because they can play in different formations and keep opponents guessing.

"Emily [Pallotta], Marisha [Schumacher-Hodge], Shauna [Kelleher] and Corie [Halasz] are our key returning players with experience looking to make a strong contribution," noted Feldman. "I think that versatility is going to be an advantage for us because we can play different shapes and we can move players in and out of different spots and have it be relatively seamless."

Patrolling the outside flanks will be Pallotta and Halasz. Pallotta tallied four goals, including the game-winner against UNH in the conference championship game, which sent BU into the NCAA tournament. She added one assist for nine points - good for third on the team. She went on to earn America East All-Conference First Team honors as well as Soccer Buzz Northeast Region and NEWISA All-New England Second Team honors.

Halasz will be returning to the pitch for the first time since the 2006 season, after she suffered a season-ending injury prior to the start of the 2007 campaign. Halasz's versatility on both offense and defense makes her indispensible to the midfield. As a freshman, Halasz slid into a starting role on the backline, but the speedy Connecticut native was adept at going forward with the ball and providing offensive power.

A veteran in the midfield, Schumacher-Hodge will be an anchor on the inside. She is crafty and cannot only defend, but she returns as the team's leader in points (14) and assists (6) from a year ago. She was an America East first-team honoree, as well as an NSCAA All-Northeast Region Third Team member.

Also a projected starter, Kelleher debuted in the midfield last season after redshirting her freshman year with a knee injury. She was dangerous on offense with her speed and ability to maneuver on and off the ball. She played in 12 games and recorded the game-tying assist against Minnesota on Sept. 21.

Meredith Beaton, Brittany Heist and Mallory Doyle are three returning players expected to contribute in the midfield, while freshmen Jessica Luscinski (Bedford, N.H.) and Krista Minto (Nissequogue, N.Y.) should also make immediate impacts. Luscinski currently holds 10 school records, including career assists (25) and career points (129). Minto was a two-time all-county and all-conference honoree and a Region I Premier player for the East Meadow Shooting Stars, which won the Disney Showcase in 2005 and 2006.

FORWARDS
On the offensive front, Feldman will field a lot of depth with numerous student-athletes who can be the difference makers.

"The position is a wide-open affair as far as who is going to be contributing goals, and a lot of them are capable of filling that spot," said Feldman. "It is really going to be based on who hits the ground running in preseason."

Junior Mara Osher will be looked upon as a potential starter in 2008 after recording two goals and five assists for nine points from the midfield position last year. She will move up top this fall, which should give the Terriers another threat.

The 2006 Rookie of the Year Farrell McClernon returns for her junior season after starting all 21 games last year, scoring two goals and adding three assists. She was named to the America East All-Conference Second Team for her efforts.

Senior Jennifer Herman is another option for Feldman up top after playing in 16 games and earning two starts in 2007. Her only goal of the season came at the most crucial time - it gave BU its initial lead over UNH in the conference championship.

Sophomores Stephanie Croghan, Tiya Gallegos and Taleen Dimirdjian as well as red-shirt freshman Cynthia Warman will provide depth at the forward position. Croghan was an America East All-Rookie Team honoree after posting four goals in 16 matches, while Gallegos, Dimirdjian and Warman will be returning to the pitch after injuries sidelined them in 2007.

Newcomer Jamie Schiffer (Dana Point, Calif.) will have to wait a year before fulfilling her potential, as she suffered an injury that will sideline her for the 2008 campaign. Schiffer was an NSCAA All-American as a junior and a Scholar All-American as a senior at St. Margaret's High School.

THE SCHEDULE
As she has for the past several years, Feldman has put together a highly competitive non-conference schedule to prepare the Terriers for the challenges of the America East slate. The schedule is highlighted by three 2007 NCAA tournament teams and features Northeast rivals Boston College and UConn, which finished in the NSCAA top 25.

Other high points of the schedule include home games against the Big Ten's Wisconsin and an appearance in the Minnesota Gold Classic with host-school Minnesota and Wisconsin-Milwaukee from Sept. 19-21.

"Our regular season is vitally important and the two portions [conference and non-conference] are equally important to us," said Feldman. "We want to prove that we can compete with anyone in the country and we want to put ourselves in a terrific position for postseason. We look to try to get the very best non-conference competition that we can locally and take a couple out-of-region games."