Soccer opens 2003 at Arizona Invitational
8/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Head Coach: Rob Marinaro (Clemson 92)
Record at Kent State: 12-21-2 (.371)/third year
Career Record: same
Upcoming Week:
August 29-31 University of Arizona Invitational (Tucson, Ariz.)
August 29 Kent State vs. Weber State 5 p.m. (PDT)
August 31 Kent State at Arizona 2 p.m. (PDT)
The 2003 Kent State University soccer season kicks off this week as the Golden Flashes take part in the University of Arizona Invitational in Tucson, Ariz. Kent State opens against Weber State University Aug. 29 before meeting host University of Arizona Aug. 31 in a pre-determined schedule format. The other school participating in the invitational is Iowa State University.
The Golden Flashes are coming off a 6-10-2 season in 2002, that saw Kent State place 10th in the Mid-American Conference with a 3-6-0 record. Third-year head coach Rob Marinaro returns eight starters and 15 letterwinners from last seasons club.
HEAD COACH ROB MARINARO: Now in his seventh year with the Kent State soccer program, Rob Marinaro (Clemson 92) enters his third season as head coach. Marinaro was an assistant coach in his first four years at Kent State, and has been with the Golden Flashes since the programs inception in 1997. A 1992 graduate of Clemson University, Marinaro was a four-year letterwinner with the Tigers and played on the 1987 national championship team. He also played five seasons in the National Professional Soccer League and one year in the American Professional Soccer League.
SCOUTING THE ARIZONA INVITATIONAL: Kent States opening opponent in the Arizona Invitational is Weber State University, which is coming off a 5-12-1 season in 2002, finishing 1-6-0 in the Big Sky Conference. Ten starters return for co-head coaches Lynn Kofoed and Tom VudhiVadhana, who are 66-58-7 in their eighth season with the team. Senior Kaleen Grant is the leading returning scorer, after notching four goals and one assist last year.
The University of Arizona posted a 6-12-1 mark in 2002 and went 1-8-0 in Pacific-10 Conference play to finish 10th. First-year head coach Dan Tobias (Cal Poly 87) takes over the Wildcats this season after posting a five-year career record of 44-45-9. Arizona returns nine starters and 16 letterwinners from last years club. Sophomore Kelly Nelson, a second team All-PAC pick in 2002, is back after scoring a school-record 13 goals last season.
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST THE COMPETITION: Kent State plays both Weber State and Arizona for the first time this week. The Golden Flashes have two previous meetings against current Big Sky Conference members, owning a perfect 2-0-0 mark in two games against Northern Arizona University. Kent State is 0-1-0 in its only other meeting against the Pacific-10, losing to the University of California-Berkeley.
COVAYS BACK: Senior forward Lauren Covay (Oswego, Ill./Oswego), Kent States leading scorer in 2002, returns to the lineup this season. Last year, she notched team highs in goals (7), points (17), shots (62) and shots on goal (27). Her 62 shots taken were one shy of the KSU single-season record of 63 set by classmate Lauren Caminati (Solon, Ohio/Solon) in 2001.
SENIORS LEAD THE WAY IN 2003: Ten Kent State seniors return to the roster in 2003, looking to lead the Golden Flashes back to the MAC Tournament. Of the 10, nine are three-year letterwinners, having led Kent State to a 20-29-3 record over the last three seasons. The 2003 Kent State seniors are Jackie Pecjak, Uma Ramadorai, Nikki Champe, Lauren Covay, Sara Figuly, Sarah Young, Corie Van Korngut, Kacy McMillan, Stacey Rust and Lauren Caminati.
CAMINATI APPROACHES RECORD: Senior forward Lauren Caminati (Solon, Ohio/Solon) enters 2003 needing just three points to become Kent States all-time leader in points. Caminati has amassed 20 goals and 12 assists in her three-year career for 52 points. She trails only
Nicki Downey (1997-2000), 55 points, for the all-time lead. Last season Caminati became KSUs all-time leading goal scorer and she is currently third on the career assists list. She also holds or shares a pair of single-match records and two single-season records.
WHOS IN GOAL? The 2003 roster boasts three goalkeepers, however none have played a single collegiate game. Despite the lack of experience, Marinaro is excited about the competition to determine the starting keeper. This years keepers are sophomore Misty Kulcsar (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) and freshman Alicia Fernandez (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) and
Shannon Lynn (Brampton, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas).
TOP SCORERS ARE BACK: Four of the Golden Flashes five leading scorers from 2002 return in 2003. Along with leading scorer, senior forward Lauren Covay (Oswego, Ill./Oswego), senior forward Lauren Caminati (Solon, Ohio/Solon) returns as well as sophomore forward Ashley Bohinc (Chesterland, Ohio/West Geauga) and sophomore midfielder Jenn Frey (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy). Caminati tallied five goals and six assists for 16 points last season, while Bohinc had four goals and two assists for 10 points. Frey recorded three goals and two assists for eight points.
SUCCESS ON THE HOME PITCH: The Golden Flashes posted a solid 6-2-1 record at the Kent State Soccer Field last season, picking up each of its wins at home. The Flashes outscored their opposition 25-11 in games on the home turf. Away from home, Kent State did not experience a great deal of success, going 0-8-1. But the Flashes were a tough opponent in many of those games, losing four one-goal games.
2002 IN REVIEW: The 2002 Kent State soccer squad matched its win total from 2001, going 6-10-2, but could easily have turned half of those losses into wins. How close were the Golden Flashes to finishing at the .500 mark or better? Kent State lost five one-goal games and had three more two-goal losses and a pair of ties. One of the highlights of the 2002 season came off the field as Bethany Sanker was named to the Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team, becoming the first Kent State soccer player to receive the honor. Sanker completed her career second in KSU history with 71 matches played and 17 goals. Lindsey Mitchell capped an outstanding career as the most prolific goalkeeper in Kent State history. She finished as the all-time leader in five statistical categories; matches played in goal (60), minutes played (5,104), saves (362), victories (21) and shutouts (10). She also is second in career save percentage (.780). Last season she was 3-6-2 in 10 starts with a 1.52 goals-against average and 55 saves.
COMING UP NEXT: Following the Arizona Invitational, the Golden Flashes host the Kent State Soccer Tournament, Fri.-Sat., Sept. 5-6. The pre-determined schedule for the tournament has Wright State University playing Elon University in the opening game Sept. 5 at 3 p.m., followed by Kent State against Campbell University at 5 p.m. Day two, Sept. 6, of the tournament has Wright State taking on Campbell at 11 a.m., with the Flashes closing the action against Elon at 1 p.m.
