New England Mutiny Women's Soccer

MUTINY SHORE UP COACH & ROSTER
Former Mutiny star Molinaro will lead team; Monroe returns alongside 11 signings

News SPRINGFIELD, MA (05/10/10) - The New England Mutiny of the East Conference of the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) have shored up their head coach and roster for the upcoming kick-off of the Summer 2010 season. Former New England midfield standout Lauren Molinaro has been hired to lead the Mutiny crew this season, and will have a previous team-mate to help provide her with the on-the-field leadership intrinsic to team success.

Mary-Frances Monroe returns to the New England squad after spending last summer with fellow Northeast Division foe Boston Aztec & the Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). The University at Albany Head Coach & 2009 All-WPSL East selection will be joined by 11 signings, as the Mutiny make final preparations for their home opener at Northampton H.S. on Saturday, May 15th at 7:00 p.m. against Boston Aztec U-23.

Four players from the University of Connecticut - and one who has verbally committed to play for Head Coach Len Tsantiris - are coming back to the Mutiny, as local star Danielle Dakin (Wilbraham, MA), defender/midfielder Karen Gurnon (Tolland, CT), defender/midfielder Meghan Cunningham (Simsbury, CT) and midfielder Becky Gundling (Farmington, CT) are joined by future Husky, U-17 U.S. Women's National Team member & rising senior Riley Houle (Columbia, CT) as 2010 returnees.

The University of Massachusetts Minutewomen are sending three of their stars to New England, as forward Sydney Stoll (Dedham, MA) will don the Mutiny colors once again while forward/midfielder Therese Smith (Holyoke, MA) and midfielder Lauren Yelinek (Ludlow, MA) will also join the team this summer. Two more local stars in forward Brittany Barry (Springfield, MA - Wilbraham & Monson Academy) and defender Chelsea Botta (East Longmeadow, MA - Marist College) are back for the 2010 season, while goalkeeper Jackie Fede (Cheshire, CT) will attend to net-minding duties.

Coupled with the preliminary signings of experienced players like Mutiny charter member Jenny Maurer, Karyn Riviere, Lauren Aldred & Vanessa Patry and New England has formed a strong foundation for another post-season run.

"[Our former coach] Tony Horta did a great job while he was here, and I have complete confidence that Lauren will do the same," said Mutiny owner Joe Ferrara, Jr. "The return of M.F. [Mary-Frances Monroe] along with our veteran players will provide a rock-solid base from where our younger stars can build off of. We had a strong end to our 2009 season and its looking like we'll have a great team this year to can continue that success."

For Molinaro, the transition from being a popular member of the Mutiny squad to now coaching her former team-mates will be a big adjustment, but one she feels she's well-trained to adapt to in a quick period of time.

"That change in roles, going from peer to coach-and-player, can be dangerous," said Molinaro, who was an All-WPSL Final Four selection in 2007 for the Mutiny, while she was an assistant coach at the University of Rhode Island. "But it depends on your relationships. We have veterans like [Jenny] Maurer, [Karyn] Riviere... and the key is respect. We all have a mutual respect for each other. I think all the players know how much I respect them. We've all been through this together before.

"It's important to know your abilities and to know when it's time to get off the field. I had a lot of back problems and I couldn't be the player I wanted to be in order for the Mutiny to be as successful as I wanted us to be. I may not be able to physically do some things, but I can still teach others to do them."

A former member of the WUSA's Boston Breakers and the 2008 WPSL East Player of the Year for the Mutiny, Monroe made her WPS debut last summer in the club's 1-0 victory over the Washington Freedom on Wednesday, June 24th at Harvard Stadium. One of the last 2010 pre-season roster cuts for both WPS Boston and Philadelphia, Mary-Frances played for Boston Aztec - the reserve squad for the Breakers - earlier last summer, where she notched six goals and 10 assists for the Northeast Division champions.

UConn (11-8-2) made it to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament last fall before falling to Boston College, and have 2008 All-WPSL Final Four selection Dakin (started all 21 matches), Cunningham (19 starts) and Gundling (20 starts) to thank for the team's late season resurgence. Gurnon was unfortunately limited to only three starts for the Huskies in 2009 before an injury ended her season.

UMass made it to the post-season for the first time in five seasons last fall with thanks to Smith, Stoll and Yelinek, who scored the game-winning goal vs. Richmond to propel the Minutewomen into the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament. After missing part of 2007 and all of 2008 due to injury, Smith & Stoll were major offensive contributors for UMass in 2009, as Smith was the team's leading scorer (5g, 3a) and shared the team lead in goals scored with Stoll. The Dedham, MA native was also named to the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team - the 16th Minutewoman in program history to earn the recognition.

Houle joined Barry on the 2009 NSCAA/adidas High School Girls All-Region I (New England) Team, while the latter took the next step up, being named a National H.S. All-American as well. This past October 17th against Canterbury, Barry - the first female athlete in the history of Wilbraham & Monson Academy to be awarded this NSCAA honor - scored her 100th career high school goal and by the end of the season, had a total of 51 goals in her two years at WMA (110 total in her high school career).

Botta was one of three Marist Red Foxes to start all 20 games last fall (in both midfield and defense), and was the only freshman on the team to accomplish that feat. Fede made 39 starts in goal for the University of Rhode Island over her career, with her best campaign in 2007 where she made all 20 starts for the Rams and finished with a a 1.16 GAA (.791 save percentage).

Note: Material from The Republican (Springfield, MA) was used in this release.

About the New England Mutiny: The New England Mutiny are a charter member of the WPSL East Conference, winning five East titles while reaching the WPSL National Final on two occasions. For more information on the team, please visit http://www.mutinysoccer.com or send an e-mail to info@mutinysoccer.com. AAA (American Automobile Association) of Pioneer Valley is the Official Team Sponsor of the Mutiny for the Summer 2010 season. Visit their official website at http://www.aaa.com/aaa/045/pioneer/insurance/index.html to purchase tickets, book special travel discounts, apply for an auto loan, receive auto insurance discounts and much, much more!

The Republican - Former Player Takes Over As Coach Of New England Mutiny

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