Golden Flashes Kick-Off 2008 Season at Youngstown State on Sunday
8/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Game Notes in .PDF
Coming off a 7-11-1 campaign in 2007, the Golden Flashes are eager to get the 2008 season under way as they travel to local rival Youngstown State on Sunday afternoon. Kent State, which has qualified for five straight Mid-American Conference Tournaments, returns 18 letterwinners to the pitch this fall.
• 2008 marks the third consecutive year the Golden Flashes begin the year away from the KSU Soccer Field. Beginning its 12th season the program is 4-5-2 all time in season openers, but have a 0-3-2 record when starting the season away from home. The last season opening win for the Golden Flashes was in 2004 when they started with 4-0 win at Cleveland State and went on to capture their second straight MAC Regular season title.
• Kent State is coming off a 3-1 exhibition win at Cleveland State last Sunday. Sophomore Josee Charron, a 2007 MAC All-Freshman team selection, racked up four points in the contest with a goal and two assists. Freshman Hannah Johnson scored the game's first goal while junior Emily Reno, who played in just five games in 2007 also notched a goal scored in the contest.
• Youngstown State has 17 returners from last season's 1-18-1 team.
• Kent State owns a 6-1-1 all-time series record against the Penguins. The Golden Flashes posted a 2-0 win last season in Kent behind a game-winning goal from current sophomore Annie Messer.
• Annie's older sister Kaitlin, played two season for Youngstown State before transferring to Kent State prior to last season.
• The Golden Flashes have eight starters back among the 18 letterwinners, including seniors Kris Nelson, Cassie Seten and junior Megan Hill who were the only KSU players to start all 19 games last season.
• Nelson played every minute in goal in 2007 and posted five shutouts on the season, equaling the second most in a single season by a KSU goalie. She also placed third in the MAC with 97 saves and owns a career 1.29 goals against average.
• Seten enters the 2008 season as the program's active leader in games played (61) and has made 36 consecutive starts.
• Junior Catharine Marosszeky has been selected by the NCAA to serve on the National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) as the Mid-American Conference representative.
Marosszeky will serve as SAAC President at Kent State for the 2008-09 school year.
With four goals last season, including three game-winners, the second team All-MAC honoree is KSU's leading returning scorer.
• KSU went 3-8 last season in one goal decisions. The Golden Flashes posted a 6-2-1 mark when scoring first, but went a mere 1-8 when the opponent struck first.
• Kent State welcomes to new faces to the sidelines this season with the addition of Assistant Coaches Abby Richter and Pat Sweeney.
Richter rejoins the Kent State staff after previously working two years as a graduate assistant under Head Coach Rob Marinaro from 2003-2005. She returns to KSU after spending the last two seasons at Ball State University where she led the Cardinals to MAC regular season titles in 2006 and 2007. During her first stint on the KSU staff, the Golden Flashes won back-to-back regular season Mid-American Conference titles posting a 23-9-8 overall record and a 15-4-5 record in the league.
Sweeney over 20 years of Olympic development and club soccer coaching experience to the Golden Flashes program. Since 1987, the 21-year NSCAA member, has served as an Olympic Development coach for the Ohio Youth Soccer Association. The British Columbia product was named the 1996 Greater Cleveland Public High School Coach of the Year at Shaker Heights while also picking up Lake Erie League COY honors. He then earned the Greater Cleveland Private High School COY award in 2000 with the Hawken School when he lead the team to a state championship and was a two time Chagrin Valley Conference COY in 2000 and 2001. In 2005 he guided his 91/92 Girls team to the Super Y League National Championship and one year later took a 91/92 Girls team to a US Club Soccer Region A Championship
• Since the inception of the program in 1997, the Golden Flashes have gone 59-33-4 (.635) at home.
• Next up: Kent State heads to Wright State n Friday for a 7:00 pm start. The Golden Flashes fell to the Raiders 4-0 at Kent last season. The 2008 home opener is scheduled for next Sunday, August 31 against SIU-Edwardsville.
• Kent State is coached by Rob Marinaro (Clemson '92). Now in his eighth season as the head coach- and 12th overall with the program, Marinaro has compiled a 61-58-17 overall record. He was named the MAC Coach of the Year in both 2003 and 2004.
| 8-24-Youngstown State |
