San Francisco, CA – It’s a brand new year and a brand new start for the Academy of Art University women’s soccer team. Now in candidacy year two with the NCAA, the Urban Knights are one step closer to becoming full pledge Division II members. But that is in the back of the mind of the Urban Knights as they ready for the start of their third season.
The women made big strides last year as they gained the much needed experience required for a young team. This year, the women are older, wiser, stronger, and more ready than ever to step on that field.
During the off-season, Head Coach Aileen Nasypany busied herself by adding several new faces to the team for this season. After the team struggled with roster numbers last season, Nasypany was determined not to make that an issue this year.
“We now have depth for our roster,” commented Coach Nasypany. “The roster numbers will create competition for starting positions, and the combined backgrounds and experience of the girls will enhance the team chemistry and bonds.”
The women are returning several players from last season, as they had no seniors to graduate last year. This year they will be led by junior captain Olivia Dupon, who has been with the team from the beginning. “She [Olivia] has dedicated herself in the off-season physically, mentally, and socially to becoming the leader we will need to unite pretty much a brand new team with a very small number of returners,” said Coach Nasypany.
All of the Knights’ top scorers from last year and their leading goalkeeper are returning for action in 2010. The women will look to come out strong and prove themselves as a powerhouse in the Pacific Wes Conference.
The 2010 season for the women begins with two scrimmages in late August. The first scrimmage will take place on August 23rd versus Holy Names after which the Urban Knights scrimmage against Chico State on August 28th. The Wildcats finished the 2009 season ranked 5th in the West Region. ART U follows with its third and final scrimmage on August 30th against Cal State East Bay. The Urban Knights then open their regular season with two games against NAIA members. Those games will be against Bethany University on September 4th, and Menlo College on the 9th.
After playing four games on the road to start their season, the Urban Knights host their first home game of the year on September 16
th against PacWest members Dixie State College. The Red Storm are the 2009 defending PacWest Champions. This game marks the start of conference play for the ladies, as they will only have two other non-conference games throughout their season.
“We will be tested right off the bat with our first conference game against PacWest Champs Dixie State, and shortly thereafter followed by a difficult road trip early in the season to Hawaii,” said Nasypany.
Continuing on their homestand, the women then host Grand Canyon University on September18th and the University of Hawaii-Hilo on the 22nd. After the conclusion of the three-game homestand, the Urban Knights then hit the road for their longest road trip of the season.
The women will be on a five-game road trip in Hawaii, spanning just over a week. “It will be a challenge physically to play five games in ten straight days on the road and mentally to keep the student-athletes focused for such a long period of time at a high level; in one of the most beautiful vacation spots in the world,” added Coach Nasypany.
The Knights begin the Hawaiian road trip with a tough two-game series. They face Hawaii Pacific University on September 25th, a team who finished third in the PacWest; then face BYU-Hawaii on the 27th, the second place conference finishers of 2009. Next, the Knights will face Chaminade on September 29th, and then fly to the main Island to challenge Hilo on October 1st. They wrap up the road trip with a second game against Chaminade on the 3rd.
Following the long road trip, the Academy of Art University will hold a short two-game series against Bay Area conference rivals Dominican University and Notre Dame de Namur on October 7th and 9th respectively.
The following week the women take a short conference break, to play top Division III members UC Santa Cruz on the 16th. The Banana Slugs finished the 2009 season ranked 6th in the West Region. The Knights then return home to host NAIA members William Jessup on the 22nd to start a new two game homestand.
The Urban Knights’ homestand will conclude on the 28th with another tough competition against Grand Canyon University. The women then again play the two Bay Area conference members Dominican and Notre Dame for their final road games of the season.
The Knights follow with a return home to Boxer Stadium to host their final game of the season on November 6th, where they will battle the Red Storm of Dixie State.
It will be a full schedule for the Academy of Art this year, but the women are more than ready and very eager to get on the field to show everyone what they have this season.
“The 2010 schedule will be a grueling schedule,” said Aileen Nasypany. “With the help of Assistant Athletic Director Colin Preston, we will be able to use the increase in home games to finally have some sort of home field advantage. This season, we have secured a training facility with a well-maintained grass pitch on Treasure Island less than 15 minutes away and all home games on a nice grass pitch with great atmosphere at well-known Boxer Stadium.”
With such a tough schedule, the Urban Knights will have the experience from their returning athletes, along with the help from their new teammates, to lead the way in conference. The Knights are returning key players such as juniors Olivia Dupon, Solveig Barnes, Jessica Madrid, and Morgan McKnight, and sophomores Carmela Doerr, Jasmine Sharpe, and Tanner McCandlish.
“No players graduated last season – so I will use the returners’ understanding of my philosophy and their experience together to our advantage,” exclaimed Nasypany. “However, we are still a young team with only three seniors and a majority of young underclassman. The program is still in the growth and formation stage.”
Doerr led the team last year in goals with four. She also had one assist for a total of nine points on the season. Doerr also led the team in shots with 37, including 22 shots on goal. Dupon was right behind her with three goals of her own, including one assist for a total of seven points. Sharpe also paved the way for the Urban Knights by posting two goals, for a total of four points.
Barnes was the standout goalkeeper for the Academy last season. She played 16 games in the net for her team and recorded 116 saves, with a .773 save percentage. She finished with a 3-12 record, with all three wins being shutouts. Throughout the season, Barnes also scored one goal for the Urban Knights.
Throughout the new class of recruits, the Urban Knights will look to Megan Bucci, and Hannah Emmett to help lead the team this season. Bucci is a transfer from USF, and Emmett is a transfer for the Canadian National Team. Together, with their experience they will be a huge asset to the young Urban Knights team, and help to improve the level of play.
Coach Nasypany reflects on her goals for the 2010 season, “Our team goals on the field are to improve over last year’s record, have a winning season, and look to finish in the top half of the PacWest Conference. Our team goals off the field are to continue having an overall team GPA over 3.0, along with having a positive impact as role models and upstanding citizens not only on the
Academy of Art University campus, but in the surrounding Bay Area as well.”