WEST HAVEN, Conn. - The 2011 University of New Haven women’s soccer team will rely on veteran leadership to guide a young core this fall as the team sets out for its third-straight winning season. The Chargers finished with a 9-8-2 overall mark in 2010 and will return 13 players from last year’s squad, including four senior class members.

Co-captains Kim Taylor and Lauren Primovic will be asked to lead a young squad that consists of 17 underclassmen and eight freshmen. Of those eight newcomers, four are expected to make immediate impacts in starting roles. Despite the lack of experience, second-year head coach Laura Duncan has high expectations for this year’s team as they look to make their third consecutive Northeast-10 Conference Tournament appearance.

Goalkeeper
Senior co-captain Kim Taylor will serve as the team’s anchor this fall as she looks to improve upon a stellar career thus far. She has started all-but one game since joining the team as a freshman. Last season, Taylor finished third in the Northeast-10 Conference with seven shutouts and fourth in the league with 111 saves for a .799 saves percentage as a junior. In addition, she tallied a career-high 14 saves in a 1-0 victory over Adelphi. Expectations remain high for the talented senior as she will see most of the action between the posts in 2011. Returning to the squad is sophomore Breanna Brown and she will be joined by two newcomers, freshmen Moriah Saidel and Natasha Purchla.

Defense
Junior Lauren Primovic and sophomore Amanda Hathaway will be asked to guide a very young backline this year – one that may feature four freshmen and only one senior. Primovic will serve as co-captain in 2011 and returns this fall as the most experienced defender. She has appeared in all 39 games the last two years including 35 starts. Hathaway enters her second season as a Charger after a freshman campaign in which she started all 19 games in the backfield. Also providing experience on the defensive end is senior Danielle Iacono who may be looked upon for veteran leadership. In addition, their will be five newcomers to this year’s defense including sophomore, Heather Timmons and Shelbi Guimond. Both will be asked to make an immediate impact in a starting role. Freshmen Hannah Allen and Jenn Dobrodziej will also look to earn minutes for the Chargers’ defense as first year contributors.

Midfield
Head coach Laura Duncan hopes the midfield acts as the engine that fuels this year’s squad. Leading the group is senior Brenna Weidman, who started all 19 games last season in her first year with New Haven. She will be asked to play a pivotal role in the middle alongside sophomore newcomer Nicole Pacapelli and freshman Amber Simms. Adding leadership to a young core is senior Mary Kitsis. Kitis has made 43 appearances and 16 starts in three seasons with the Chargers and will be joined by sophomores Tami Vargas and Alexa Seidenfeld.

Forward
Leading the Chargers attack in 2011 will be junior Lucy Francisco. Expectations are high for the junior after an exceptional preseason and stellar 2010 campaign. She led the team in assists with three and was second in both points and goals. Francisco also recorded two game-winning goals last year and will guide the most experienced group on the team. Joining her will be junior Shannon Morales and sophomore Monica Yanez. Morales and Yanez accounted for 24 starts last season including 12 points and five goals. Yanez enters her second season as a Charger and will be asked to become a leader immediately. Sophomores Jordan Lipner-Riza and Alyssa Zargos, and freshmen Courtney Marra and Colie Sambrook hope to make an impact off-the-bench at the forward position.

The Schedule
New Haven begins the season on Sunday, September 4 with its home-opener versus non-conference opponent Dominican College at 12:00 p.m. The Chargers will have four days of rest before returning to Kayo Field on Friday, September 9 for their first conference matchup against Franklin Pierce. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. They conclude the weekend with their first away game on Sunday, September 11 as they head to North Andover, Mass. to face Merrimack. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.

The rest of the season will be highlighted by conference matchups against top ranked teams such as AIC, UMass Lowell and Saint Rose, as well as cross-town rival Southern Connecticut. New Haven will make a short trip to cross-town rival SCSU on September 20 for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. On Wednesday, September 28, the Chargers will head to Springfield, Mass. to face AIC at 7:00 p.m. The following week, New Haven will host the River Hawks of UMass Lowell. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. at Kayo Field. The next game features a trip to Albany, N.Y. as the Chargers take on the NE-10 reigning champion Golden Knights of Saint Rose for a 5:00 p.m. start time. New Haven will then honor its senior class members prior to the team’s final home game versus Le Moyne at 3:30 p.m. on October 18. The Chargers conclude the 2011 regular season with three consecutive away games starting with a trip to Saint Michael’s on October 22 and finishing with a 1:00 p.m. contest on October 29 against Southern New Hampshire.