By Charlie Maisano

Last season, Fordham Women’s soccer team made big strides in improving their record, and their confidence that they can make some noise in the A-10.

This season, the team is ready to take that next step.

The first step for the team was to avenge the 2017 season where they finished with a record below .500 for the first time since 2014. They did just that by rounding out 2018 with a 9-9-1 and making their first A-10 Tournament appearance since 2016. The highlight of the season was when the team went on a six-game winning streak after starting the year only 1–5.

The Rams will have to regroup and move on without six graduating seniors, including team captain and NCAA Woman of the Year Award nominee, Brooke Salmon. With some spots now left vacant on the team, head coach Jessica Clinton welcomed a new recruiting class to the Bronx in May. The recruiting class consists of five new freshmen—forward Kristin Cocozza from Coopersburg, Pa., midfielder Danielle Etienne from Paterson, N.J., forward Caitlin Kennedy form Manhasset, N.Y., defender Alexa Morello from Northville, Mich., and midfielder Maura Murphy from Mokena, Ill.
Clinton is excited to have the newcomers at Rose Hill and can’t wait to see them in action.

“We have 5 strong first year players. They’ve shown that they can not only compete in training, but have made some big plays for us on the field. The more comfortable this group gets, the more you will see from them. They are fun and exciting to watch and they are fearless. It’s exactly what we need.”

Along with the five freshmen, the Rams will also have new faces in terms of leadership roles. Clinton named seniors Margaret Roughley and Julianna Mascelli as team captains back in May. Both women played in all 19 games for the Rams last season and have been valuable players on the pitch over the course of their three seasons at Fordham. Roughley, a 2018 Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference selection, scored a team-high four goals last season and added nine points on the year. Mascelli has scored two goals in her career at Rose Hill and was a member of the 2018 Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

With the season underway and the team mentally and physically ready for the task at hand, Clinton wants her team to remain consistent all year long so they can take the A-10 by storm.

“We are at a place where I believe our group is challenging each other physically in training. They are tough on the ball and it’s hard to take it away. We need that for the rest of the season so when we can honestly say that we’ve prepared ourselves for the next step. We need to dig in each session to be physically prepared going into tough games. It’s even a step for our returners to do it, but if we can get it to be an every training session/game goal, then it becomes a part of our culture and it becomes easier for the 1st years.”