LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College women's soccer program will look to defend its Sunshine State Conference Regular Season title in the 2023 campaign, this time under new head coach
Gerry Lucey.
2023 Season Opener
Opponent – Spring Hill & West Florida
Dates – Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. vs SHC | Sept. 3 at 11 a.m. vs UWF
Location – Berend Field, Lakeland, Fla.
Live Stats – http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=sflo
Live Video – https://www.sunshinestateconference.tv/floridasouthern/
Last year, the Mocs had their best season in program history with a conference title in hand, after being picked to finish last in the 2022 SSC preseason poll. FSC finished the 2022 schedule with a 13-2-4 overall record, including the program's first Sunshine State Conference Regular Season Championship. Having made the postseason for the first time since 2010, the Mocs snagged their first NCAA postseason win in women's soccer history with an overtime thriller against Mississippi College in the first round of the NCAA regional tournament. FSC completed the 2022 season with 13 wins (most since 2008), eight conference wins (program record), 45 goals (third-most in school history), averaged 2.37 goals a game (second-best), and a new school record with nine shutouts in the season, allowing only 15 goals all year.
Now under coach Lucey, the Mocs will look to defend their conference title with a new team, scattered with some familiar faces from last year's squad. "I'm excited for the season and where it will take us," said Lucey. "The players have high expectations for themselves, and we are looking forward to getting out there and starting the season." The Mocs are registering votes in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll to open the 2023 season.
The 2023 Team
With a new season approaching, Florida Southern will continue with some familiarity in goal as keeper
Jenny Staten returns for a fourth season with the Mocs. Staten has shined in her career with the Mocs, moving into second all-time in FSC history for career shutouts (16) after a combined nine shutouts in 2022. She has 44 appearances and 43 starts in her career with 183 saves. Last year's 0.90 GAA set a new single-season record for the women's team and her save percentage remains over 80% in three seasons. Joining Staten in goal is
Meghan Kriney, a senior who has balanced time as a goalkeeper as well as on the field as a forward with three shots on goal last year, one of which found the back of the net.
On the defensive side of the field, Florida Southern returns
Jordan King, Haley Thomassy, and
Madison Male who each saw significant minutes in the backfield that helped lead the Mocs to an NCAA victory last year. Once a novice position has turned into an experienced operation in the backfield with a strong set of returners. Despite losing some defenders due to graduation, the Mocs have a strong lineup that includes
Paige Weis, Emma Lloyd, Lilian Kern, Liliana Jeffries, and
Abby DeSalvo (each returners) with the addition of newcomer
Kennedy Johnsen.
Joining the defense in a midfield position are returners
Morgan Elliott, Olivia Walker, and
Maris Kern. Elliott had 16 appearances last season, including nine starts while adding a goal in her 11 shots. M. Kern added a goal herself and will work alongside
Bianca Purpura, another returner from the Mocs for her senior season. In a key position on the field, the Mocs added three freshmen midfielders with
Rilee Hasegawa, Ori Gotauco, and
Bria Weldon in the mix.
Bridgett Barrowman, a junior transfer from Central Connecticut State University, also joined Florida Southern in the offseason bringing in more experience in the middle of the field.
The forward position has another line of experience with
Malia Brost returning at the front position after last year's 19 appearances and 14 starts. She had four goals and three assists for 11 points. Alongside
Alison Jenkins and
Anita Vera, the three returners were in the top six on the team last season in points combining for 10 goals and 11 assists over the season.
Jasmin Adames, Claire DuRee, and
Frankie Benson add to the depth of the position with experienced returners with the addition of
Ally Prentice and
Sierra Spirk as freshmen newcomers.
Megan Rhonnemus, a transfer from Georgia Southern, returns to her home state of Florida to help lead the Mocs in another high-scoring season.
New Coaching Staff
The 2023 squad will be led by
Gerry Lucey, a veteran head coach joining the Mocs for the first time but not his first stint in the SSC. Lucey was a Hall of Fame head coach at the University of Tampa, winning the 2007 NCAA Division II National Championship. Lucey holds the most wins in program history at Tampa with 114 victories. He has 15 NCAA tournament berths on his resume, 10 conference tournament titles, and nine regular season titles. The Dublin, Ireland native has eight Coaching Staff of the Year awards, including the SSC Coach of the Year and three CAA Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
Joining Lucey's coaching staff are
Grace Linton, Jamie McGuinness, and
Ricky Davis. Linton was a standout player for Newman University, where she was a graduate assistant before a couple of years in professional soccer in the Premier Arena Soccer League. McGuinness brings 11 years of professional soccer experience from 2006-2016 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Most recently, he has served as the Director of Sports Management for 1866 Americas LLC in Tampa to develop and deliver effective training programs across all levels of competition. Lastly, Davis has over 25 years of coaching experience at the College, High School, and youth levels. He rejoins Lucey's staff for a second time after time at Tampa and the second stint with Florida Southern, having served as a goalkeeper's coach for the Mocs in 2010-11.
Florida Southern opens the 2023 season with games this Friday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m.), both at Berend Field. "We are very excited to get the season started this weekend," said Lucey. "The first few games will really test us on some good competition. Spring Hill to open the season and right after we have West Florida, a powerhouse team in Division II. We look forward to the tough competition and have a better idea of how we match up against the rest of the field moving forward."
