Athletics News at Mary Baldwin College

2008 Soccer Season Outlook

This coming fall marks the second season for Coach Parikakis as the head coach with the Mary Baldwin College soccer program.  With a core group of returnees and a recruiting class full of potential talent, Coach P. feels that this year, the program will continue to make strides in the right direction. 

                “I’m really excited for this season.  After a year under our belt playing in the USA
South, we now have an understanding of the type of talent that is found across the board here in the conference.  With some of the teams in our conference being regionally rank through the season, it shows us what WE need to do as a team to be competitive.”

Coach P. has six returnees coming back from last season.  Of those players, there are three key starters that will lead this young team.  The squirrels bring back their goalie Nicole Croman, striker Marguerite Cook, and midfielder Maude Ariosa.  With the team losing 8 players from last season, Coach P. is looking at these players to step up and really contribute to the squirrels’ success. 

“In the pipes, Nicole Croman returns after a tremendous freshman year.  Cro was a very important key element to our defense last year.  Especially with the loss of All-Conference defender Lizzy Coltrane from graduation, Cro will have to provide the leadership out of the back.  I’m looking for her to be more vocal and to organize the back line.  On the offensive end, Marguerite Cook is another key returner from last season.  For her hard work, she was nominated for USA South honorable mention by the coaches in the conference.  I really think that Marguerite will once again provide a powerful attack for us up front.  And another person from last year’s squad is Maude Ariosa.  Maude was a pleasant surprise last year.  She came over from cross-country and was a player that any coach would love to have.  Although she was not the most experienced, she was constantly working to better herself and her teammates.  I look for the same from her this year as well.”

With one of the largest recruiting classes of the program, Coach P. thinks that with the combination of experienced players and incoming freshmen, the soccer program should accomplish new goals this year.  The incoming recruiting class consists of 12 freshmen.  In addition to the first-year players, there are a few players that will walk on this year.

“I really think that this is a great recruiting class for the program.  We have many people that can play multiple positions.  With that being said, our ability to adapt will be something that this team will really depend on during the season.  Last year, we had a few injuries that we never recovered from.  I feel that with the players we have this year, people can step in and contribute no matter where they play.”

This year the Squirrels look to build off a season that may not have produced the number of victories they wanted, but laid the foundation for the program to grow in the future.  With a team dominated by inexperience last season, Coach P. feels that this year things will be different.

“I really tried to recruit players that had more experience than those of last season.  I feel that we spent more time teaching than we did coaching last season.  With this team, I feel that we will be able to build off the foundation and continue to make great strides in the right direction.”

The Squirrels open up their season with a match at Bluefield College on August 30th.  The first home match is slated for 4:00pm against Emory and Henry.