Video Blog: Rob Marinaro on Day One of 2015 Practice

Head coach Rob Marinaro checked in from Wednesday's first practice of 2015 as the team began its preparation for a preseason game vs. Canisius followed by the August 21 season opener at Maryland.

Renee Loya reflects on her Senior Day vs Akron a 3-0 victory for the Golden Flashes!

       The first day when you show up to preseason as a freshman, you think you have all the time in the world. People tell you it goes by quickly but it feels like forever until you’re going to graduate. Flash forward three years and it’s suddenly your senior day. It turns out all that talk about it going quickly was true.

         Senior day was definitely a bittersweet affair, leaning more towards the sweet side. Walking out every game knowing it’s the last season of soccer you'll ever play is a hard concept, but you still cherish every moment. It’s hard looking around the locker room that is decorated for you as a senior, and trying to accept the fact that you are a senior. However, looking back on what you have done and how you have grown as a person and teammate, it becomes easier to accept that fact.

Senior day this year was an amazing day for me and my fellow seniors. Our whole team came together to make sure we had an unforgettable day. From the moment we woke up, we knew it was going to be a great day. Our cars had been decorated, the locker room had been decked out, and there was plenty of excitement to go around. The fact that we were playing Akron made it so much better.

Being a senior has had its ups and downs. Senior day, however, was definitely one of the best days of the year. Beating Akron 3-0 was the icing on the cake to an already amazing day.  I am so grateful to have been a part of this team, and to have been a part of such a wonderful senior day.

Briana Bartolone - Viva Las Vegas Baby UNLV Nike Invitational Champs!

I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend with my team in Las Vegas. UNLV hosted and played in the tournament, but we had the opportunity to play two other NCAA teams. Both St. Francis and the University of Colorado made it to the NCAA tournament last year.  This was just what we needed to start our season off on a great path.  The emotions were running high, but once every single player stepped on the field we knew the fun was only beginning.  I couldn’t be happier for my team with the great wins we accomplished.  So many players stepped up and came out strong in the over a hundred degree weather to win the tournament. 

            We knew that both of our games this past weekend were not going to be a walk in the park.  Coming out with two wins against two incredible teams puts us in a great position.  As a team, we now know that if we play to our full potential, it will be extremely hard for teams to get past us.  I am really looking forward to the rest of this season and am expecting great things.

            Even though we had a job to do while in Las Vegas, coaches treated us to Cirque du Soleil.  The amount of strength, concentration and skill it takes for the performers to play their role in the show is very eye opening. The show was called Zarkana, and for most of us, this was our first experience seeing them perform. For me, this put our MAC Championship game into perspective, and helped me realize just how hard we have to work as a team to conquer that title in the future.  As I speak for my teammates right now, I can say we all had an amazing weekend and are very grateful for these opportunities. 

Senior Steph Haugh reflects on her last preseason camp

It's crazy to think that I'm in my last preseason here as a Kent State soccer player. When I started out as a freshman, I really did not know what to expect or how to feel. I was extremely nervous and excited to be part of a great program. Over my years I have come to learn that preseason allows you to test not only your physical fitness and strength, but your mental toughness as a player. Our coaches push us to give our best every day, individually and as a team. This year we had a great start to camp with the majority of our players passing fitness tests, showing dedication and pride in the goals we have set for ourselves this year. We have worked hard on all aspects of our game and progressed both on and off the field over the past week. I am excited to play with the group of girls we have and have no doubt that we will be very successful this year. As a senior, I hope that I can help to inspire our players and provide a great example fto accomplish our goals this year!

First Day Fitness Test and Field Sessions - Awesome

SOCCER UNDERWAY … Coach Rob Marinaro was pleased with the way his women’s soccer team got started on the team’s first day of practice Wednesday morning in the Field House.

Last year, only 10 players passed fitness test on day one. This year 16 out of the 21 players on the roster passed. The rest will have two more opportunities.

Marinaro said 16 is an all-time record. That means players took their offseason conditioning seriously while they were away from campus, “and that has me excited to see them coming back and prepared to go after a MAC championship,” he said. “We are in a much better position than we have ever been, and we are excited about the conditioning and the commitment of our student athletes.”

The next two days will see the team continue with fitness tests in the morning followed by two training sessions. The afternoon sessions feature more teaching with a bit more playing style in the evening just to get players acclimated to being back and to the style of play.

There is a lot to pack in over the next 16 days before the Flashes start their season Aug. 22 at home vs. Western Illinois.

Mariah Sidwell gives her thoughts on the her spring season and next fall

Coming into this past spring I was still in disbelief that it was my final spring season. To think that three years had already passed by so fast was shocking to me. When I was a freshman, my seniors told me how fast the time was going to go and here I am as a senior now. Coming into this spring, our main focus as a team was to build our team up again for this coming fall. With losing 8 seniors, we knew that our spring was going to be tough. It was our main focus to get in shape, practice hard, and win our spring competitions.  With 7:00am practice every day, we had to make sure that we were awake and ready to go. This would lead to the success we had in our competitions. 

            With this being my last spring season and now being a senior, it was my goal to keep the team moving in the right direction and to give it my all.  Our first competition was a tournament in Illinois. Although we started off shaky, due to it being our first competition, we ended the tournament with a 2-2 record.  Our next four games against Slippery Rock, Duquesne, UOIT, Pitt, and Woodbridge all ended with victories. All these games were tough but we fought through the obstacles that were thrown at us this spring. The adversity that our team had to face is what made our spring so successful. 

            With spring season ending, it’s time to focus on the upcoming fall season. As a team, we return in the beginning of August and then it’s crunch time again. Our focus this upcoming preseason is for everyone to pass the fitness tests and to come in ready to compete. These are going to be the crucial steps for putting our team in the right direction for the fall. I am confident that our team is going to be the team to watch out for this season. With the new addition of the seven freshmen, it is only going to make our team stronger. Our team has really bonded together this spring and this is what is going to make us successful. Our goals are all the same and our main goal is to win the MAC tournament. Myself being a senior it is my goal to welcome the freshmen in and set the standards high. As a whole, this team is looking forward to being successful in our upcoming season.

Abbie Lawson's thoughts on Spring Season and Freshmen Year!

Now well into the spring season, our team has been able to identify the areas where we have improved immensely. Recently, we have pin-pointed areas where we need to continue working hard in order to compete as the top notch team we desire to be.

This past weekend, we traveled to Pittsburg to take on Duquesne and followed up the next day at home against the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Against Duquesne, we had a very limited number of healthy players and played the full length of the game with a field player in goal. We went into the game open minded and ready to battle. Although we had a slow start, we soon got into a rhythm of comfort and we were able to possess. We ended up with a victory of 2-1. Proud and on a winning high, we were set to take on UOIT at home the following afternoon, this time with a few more players. With another slow start, we eventually got into our groove. We came out strong in the second half and saw it pay off, the final score ending as 4-1. After the tough weekend of back-to-back games, we were ready to continue working towards our goals as we resumed training at the beginning of the next week.

As a freshman, experiencing my first pre-season, fall season, and spring season has been a whirlwind of emotions. It has been tough, demanding, motivating, exciting, but most importantly, always enjoyable. The friendships we have made will last a lifetime. Now with our spring season coming to an end, we are focusing on our foundation for our upcoming fall season and the small things that will make it that much stronger. With the time off in the summer, we will train individually at home and come back strong and prepared for our fall season 2014.