It has been an ongoing battle for the cup between Cortland and Geneseo since 2018, with Geneseo winning three finals and Cortland winning one in 2019. Although it’s a long time in advance, the team is constantly preparing and working hard for the future. There is a lot to think about when it comes to what the fans should expect in the Cortland Women’s Soccer 2023 season.
Will the team bounce back with enough energy to finish the ’23 season with a SUNYAC championship victory? By the looks of how their off-season is going, and based off their 13-1-5 record in 2022, we should expect a lot of big and exciting things coming for the Red Dragons.
Who Won’t be Returning for the 2023 season:
Although the roster is filled with talent, they are losing one of their most prominent players, graduate-student Jaden Galluzzo. In her four years of playing here, Galluzzo accumulated 100 points between 41 goals and 18 assists placing her 5th all time in Cortland women’s soccer history. She was a key player throughout all four seasons, especially during the teams 2019 SUNYAC finals against Geneseo when she scored the game winning goal in overtime. Galluzzo has been a long-lasting member, a three-year captain, and has been a huge inspiration to her teammates.
“It’s unfortunate my collegiate career has come to an end, but I am excited to see what the team’s future will bring,” Galluzzo said. “I am sure that if they stay true to themselves, play the game they play, they are going to take back the long awaited SUNAYC Finals cup.”
Without Galluzzo the team is going to have a lot of points to make up with the loss of their leading goal scorer. Jayden Kelley might be one of those players filling Galluzzo’s spot. Kelley’s 2022 season was impressive due to the fact that she just came off a nine-month recovery from tearing her ACL back in 2021. Kelley had 19 points with eight goals and one assist.
“I think multiple people will step up to the plate and work together to fulfill my spot to the best of their abilities,” Galluzzo said. “I hope that the team is successful when giving scoring opportunities and I am extremely excited to see what the incoming freshman have to offer in the Fall.”
Off-season Spring Training
The Red Dragons off-season consisted of working on some new things, and some reoccurring flaws based off their performance in the 2022 season. Head Coach Heidi Axtell and Associate Head Coach Craig Thomas made fitness become one of their top priorities in the Red Dragons practices this off-season. With fitness drills being implemented in almost every practice the team has had, it is going to help the players continue to improve their stamina and endurance throughout the Fall season—especially if they continue to apply fitness into their summer off-season schedules.
Based off the teams 2022 season, the Red Dragons captain, Bryn Thompson, shared what the team had to work on the most in their Spring practices.
“We had to work on keeping the ball and not forcing passes,” Thompson said. “During the season, we tend to turn the ball over when we get flustered, so we worked a lot on staying calm with the ball at our feet to reduce the turn overs we create.”
On top of working on some new, on-the field drills this off-season, Thomas and Axtell made it their top priority to check in with the players, and continue to build strong relationships.
“We wanted to focus on more individual attention and meetings, player/coach relationships, and assisting underclassmen to become more vocal off the field in our classroom sessions.”
In terms of style of play, in prior seasons, the Red Dragons used a direct style of play where the defense tries to get the ball to the frontline’s feet as quick as possible. In their offseason, Axtell and Thomas decided to change the play and try something new.
“We have worked on a new style of play this spring with a more attacking from the back focus and build up play this spring,” said Axtell. “It has been fun to challenge the group as well as individual players to play differently or play in different positions. We always throw something new at the group, keep them on their toes, keep them learning by putting them in uncomfortable positions and having them problem solve their way through it.”
Summer Training:
After a few months of Spring training, the team will be going home for the summer, but will still have expectations to achieve. Before they come back in August for pre-season, Axtell and Thomas put together a general outline on what they expect their players to work on during their summer off-season, so they could continue to prepare for fall. Some of those things include:
- A workout plan from their lift coach so they could continue to build strength to become physically prepared for the fall.
- A general outline of their fitness test during pre-season, with specific scored times they need to achieve.
On top of lifting and running, Axtell and Thomas strongly encourage players to participate in summer leagues to maintain their touch on the ball and to keep their skill level up to par.
Closer Look on How the Red Dragons Will Look in the Fall:
With an estimated roster of 29 players and ten new freshmen coming in, the Red Dragon’s roster is stacked and prepared to show up in the Fall. Axtell and Thomas are going to have a difficult time building that starting lineup based off the amount of talent they have on this team.
The Cortland women’s soccer team has had a strong recruiting class in recent years, and their team is likely to be filled with talented and experienced players. The team’s success will largely depend on how well these players can come together and work as a cohesive unit. Axtell shares her thoughts about how the new incoming class is going to benefit the Red Dragon’s program.
“I am always excited about our new incoming class,” said Axtell. “We as a staff put a lot of work into it and always have a few players ready to step in and compete right away. It’s an exciting dynamic we look forward to in preseason! Hopefully we will have 2-4 new players contributing in games right away.”
Based off prior seasons, Axtell and Thomas create such a strong recruiting class, so, many of those players see the field very early on in the season, and eventually become starting lineup players.
Setting goals is a major factor when it comes to what you should expect in an upcoming season. Axtell’s goals were more less about the team’s mindset, mentally and physically, rather than specific things she wants her team to accomplish this season.
“Our goals for the upcoming season always center on being better each day as an individual and collectively as a group,” said Axtell. “We focus on not taking days off and getting more comfortable doing hard things.”
Axtell and Thomas always have high expectations for their team. Although they want the team to be successful in their season, they are always making sure their players have the correct mindset and give it their all in every single practice.
“My expectation for our team is to always be ready to compete whether it’s with each other at practice or against any opponent on our schedule,” said Axtell. “We expect to create a consistent mindset and hunger to never settle for less than our best on any given day.”
Injuries:
The Red Dragon’s roster has yet to struggle with injured players besides one of their most prominent forwards, Simone Neivel. In the 2022 season, Neivel suffered from a torn ACL in practice, just days before the Red Dragon’s SUNYAC final against Geneseo. For the rest of the 2022 season, Neivel was out waiting for surgery, and has been out for all of spring season. Based off her 2022 season, Neivel accumulated 18 points with seven goals and four assists. With high hopes, after months of physical therapy, Neivel should be back and ready to play in August and should be expected to play in the Red Dragons season.
Potential Starting Lineup for Fall ’23:
The Red Dragons had the opportunity to play in a friendly match against Div. I Binghamton University on April 16th, to show how the team is looking, in preparations for their upcoming season. Axtell and Thomas were able to play around with the lineup during the friendly and see which players would fit best in their preferred lineup for the season.
Here is what that may look like:
Goaltender: #99 Junior Kristen Spendal (From the 2022 season, Spendal has a 0.48 Goals against average, .877 save percentage and nine shutouts, plus a share in two others, in her 18 starts in goal)
Backline: #21 Senior Isabella Casucci (Casucci has one assist and started all 18 games), #6 Senior Camryn Stone (Stone has two goals and two assists, started 18 games), #30 Sophomore Rachael Ehrlich (Ehrlich has two goals, started 18 games), #12 Graduate-student Katrina Klammer (Klammer has two assists, started 18 games)
Midfield: #2 Senior Bryn Thompson (Thompson started 18 games and was selected as the SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Year) #27 Sophomore Lexi Burke (Burke played in nine games and has one goal), #11 Senior Kayla Valerioti (Valerioti has three goals and four assists, started in 14 games, and played 18)
Forward: #8 Graduate-student Jayden Kelley (Kelley has eight goals and one assist, started in eight games, and played 18), #34 Junior Katie Cosenza (Cosenza started and played 18 games and has three goals and eight assists), #13 Senior Liz Allen (Allen has five goals and one assist, started in 11 games, and played 18)
Although it is not a definite or permanent lineup, it is a highly possible one because there are several returning starting lineup players such as, Thompson, Stone, Casucci, Ehrlich, Klammer, and Cosenza. There is always room for changes, especially since Axtell and Thomas incorporate the incoming class into their lineup, days into the new season. As well as this, there are always returning, or incoming players that love to surprise the coaches with their skill after going through the process of preparation for the season.
“I am always up for a surprise- and we have a few returners that are working on being the breakout or standout player this coming fall,” said Axtell. “It’s always rewarding to watch a gifted player go through this process and really give it their all, in preparation. Definitely one of the most rewarding experiences to watch as a coach.”
2023 Season Captains:
When it comes to who the potential captains may be for the ’23 season, Axtell and Thomas took a lot of time and consideration into who they believed would be the best fitted captains. In the beginning of their off-season, Axtell and Thomas created a “leadership group” which consisted of players they believe had the potential and the influence to be a captain. Throughout the entire season, they wanted to see how the group acted before giving them that privilege.
After taking an entire off-season to evaluate the leadership group, Axtell and Thomas came to the conclusion that Bryn Thompson, Katrina Klammer (both who were 2022 season captains), and Katie Cosenza earned the righteousness of becoming the 2023 fall season captains.
“I am super excited to be a captain again and help lead the team! Seniors Katrina Klammer and Jayden Kelley are also returning for another year and will be great leaders as well.” Thompson said.
The Cortland women’s soccer team has been consistently successful in recent years, and their 2023 season is likely to be no exception. The program has a long history of excellence, and they have a dedicated coaching staff that focuses on player development and team building. The 2023 season is shaping up to be another exciting and hopefully, successful one. With a talented roster and a strong off-season, the team is well-positioned for success.