New England Mutiny Announce 2005
Signings
March 16, 2005
2004 WPSL
Coach of the Year Austin Daniels, 2004
All-WPSL selection Jessica Gjertsen,
Rachel LeDuc, Erin O'Grady and Naomi
Stone return to the Mutiny; former WUSA
players Kerry Connors, Rebekah Splaine
and former NWBL Springfield Spirit
general manager Steve Fox join New
England for 2005
SPRINGFIELD, MA - The New England
Mutiny is pleased to announce their
first signings for the Summer 2005
season in the Eastern Division of the
Women's Premier Soccer League. Returning
to the 2004 WPSL National Finalists will
be defending Coach of the Year Austin
Daniels, 2004 First Team All-WPSL
selection Jessica Gjertsen (Stony Plain,
Alberta, Canada), local legend Rachel
LeDuc (Longmeadow, MA) and former Boston
Breakers Erin O'Grady (Glastonbury, CT)
and Naomi Stone (Teaticket, MA).
On the field, joining New England this
summer will be two former Women's United
Soccer Association (WUSA) players in
Kerry Connors (Somers, CT) and Rebekah
Splaine (Cambridge, MA). Connors was a
familiar opponent against the Mutiny
last season, as she competed for the
Massachusetts Stingers in the WPSL
Eastern Division while Splaine plied her
trade for the 2004 New England champion
Boston Renegades of the W-League. Off
the field, the addition of Steve Fox as
President of the Mutiny organization
further augments a strong front office
that was rewarded last season with team
owner Joe Ferrara's selection as WPSL
Manager of the Year.
"I'm very excited to be back with the
Mutiny this summer," Daniels said, who
is also the Coaching Director of
Northern Kentucky United. "We're looking
forward to taking the team one step
further this season, and that has been
helped immensely by our returning
players and those who have signed with
us."
In 2003, Daniels was a runner-up for
Coach of the Year honors, bringing the
first-year Mutiny to the WPSL Final
Four. In 2004, he helped lead New
England to the next step - the National
Final - and therefore, took the next
step up regarding league honors as well.
In two seasons at the helm of the
Mutiny, Daniels record speaks for
itself: a 19-4 win-loss margin, four
All-WPSL selections (Alexa Borisjuk-Smith,
Gjertsen, LeDuc and Mary-Frances
Monroe), two Eastern Division titles and
two trips to the WPSL National
Championships.
Steve Fox's strong experience in the
region with the Springfield Spirit
(National Women's Basketball League) and
the Springfield Slamm (Eastern
Basketball Alliance) - working
side-by-side with the likes of current
WNBA star Sue Bird and former UConn and
U.S. National Team great Rebecca Lobo -
will boost a front office staff with his
hiring as President of the New England
Mutiny. As with the Spirit, Fox's duties
with New England will
include: sponsorships, ticket and
merchandise sales, staffing and
community out-reach programs.
Kerry Connors is not only a familiar
face to the Mutiny, but to the regional,
national and international soccer world.
A First Team All-American
at the University of Connecticut in 1996
- where she started all 24 games as a
senior, scoring 20 goals and 18 assists
for 58 points, the most ever in a single
season by a Husky - Connors has been
capped four times for the U.S. National
Team. The W-1 League MVP in 2000 for the
Boston Renegades, Kerry started out with
the WUSA's New York Power in 2001 before
playing for the Philadelphia Charge and
San Diego Spirit. In 2004 for the
Stingers, she was selected to
participate in the WUSA Soccer Festivals
with the Spirit.
Jess Gjertsen finished her career at
UConn last fall, helping the Huskies win
the 2004 Big East Conference
Championship. The senior forward
garnered First Team All-Northeast Region
and First Team All-New England
accolades, ranking second in team
scoring with 24 points (11 goals, 2
assists, 4 GWG). 2004 was the second
consecutive season that Gjertsen was
honored as an All-WPSL selection, as she
took the next step up from her 2003
Second team selection (9 goals, 3
assists) with her 2004 First Team
selection. In the 2004 WPSL Final Four,
Jess notched goals in the 4-3 semifinal
win over Utah and the 3-2 loss to
California in the National Final.
Rachel LeDuc captained her side to the
division championship in 2004 while
helping push the Chinese National Team
to the brink of a major international
upset in a 4-3 exhibition loss on July
29th. A WPSL First Team selection in
2003, scoring 8 goals and an assist,
Rachel confirmed her presence as a
"big-game" player, notching 2 goals and
2 assists in the 2004 WPSL Final Four (6
goals, 6 assists on the season).
Arguably one of the finest women's
soccer players to ever come from the
Springfield area, LeDuc was the
co-leading scorer for the W-1 League
Springfield Sirens in 2001 (9 goals, 2
assists) while leading the 2000 W-2
League National Champion Sirens in both
goals (16) and points scored (35) as an
All-League selection.
Erin O'Grady - after shaking off an
injury early in the 2004 season - became
one of the most popular players for the
Mutiny. With her hard work and
constant effort, O'Grady was selected to
play in the WUSA Soccer Festivals and
was a key component in the New England
midfield: especially for the
successful late season surge by New
England as she scored and assisted on a
goal in the 4-3 loss to China. After a
stellar career for Syracuse
University, where she was a First Team
All-Big East selection in 1998 and 2000
(Second Team in 1997 and 1999), Erin
joined the Boston Breakers in 2003 after
being a starter for the two-time
National Champion Boston Renegades.
Rebekah Splaine is another new player
for New England this summer that has had
plenty of regional and national
recognition. The Ivy League Rookie of
the Year and a First Team Northeast
Region selection as a senior at Brown
University in 2001, Splaine was a
teammate of O'Grady for Boston as they
won back-to-back W-League championships
in 2001 and 2002 (scoring the gamewinner
in the final versus Charlotte). Signed
as a Developmental Player for the Boston
Breakers in 2003 - and selected to
participate in last year's WUSA Soccer
Festivals - Bekah was one of the leading
scorers for the Renegades in 2004,
notching 8 goals and 4 assists in 9
games played.
Naomi Stone - alongside LeDuc - will be
entering her third season with the New
England Mutiny. Due to the call-up of
four U.S. National Team members
(Kristine Lilly, Kate Sobrero, Angela
Hucles and Jena Kluegel), the Boston
Breakers added Stone to their roster as
a Supplemental Player in April 2003.
However, with that Supplemental status,
Naomi was still open to sign with any
team of her choice and joined the Mutiny
just prior to the 2003 season. A
teammate of Connors at UConn, the
Huskies reached the Final Four in her
senior season in 1997. The 38th overall
pick of the Carolina Courage in the 2000
WUSA Draft, Stone has also played for
the New Hampshire Phantoms and
Springfield Sirens of the W-League.
All six of these players will be on the
field as the New England Mutiny kick off
their Summer 2005 season on Saturday,
May 14th at 7:00 pm against the
Philadelphia Pirates - a new addition to
the Eastern Division this season. A U.S.
Open Cup qualifying match, this match
will be played at Agawam High School in
Agawam, MA (site of last year's
exhibition match against China). Tickets
are $7 for adults, and $4 for
students/children.
New England will split their home
matches this season between Agawam and
Longmeadow High School in Longmeadow, MA
- their home site the past two seasons.
Our full Summer 2005 Schedule will be
released in the coming days. For more
information, call 1-800-854-0913 (ext.
703), email us at mutinysoccer@hotmail.com
or visit our official web site at
www.mutinysoccer.com. The WPSL is
the only stand-alone national women's
soccer league in the United States and
is affiliated with FIFA and the U.S.
Soccer Federation. This is what we do!
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jorma Kansanen
(413) 222-7268
mutinysoccer@hotmail.com
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