Pratt, Kan. – The Pratt Community College (PCC) Women’s Soccer team kicks off their regular season tomorrow, August 18th by traveling to Kansas City, KS. They will take on the Blue Devils of Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) at 6:00 pm.
Last season the Beavers had a record setting 11 total wins the most in program history, was conference runner-up for the second straight season and ended their season in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region VI championship game.
The Beavers look to continue their success and are striving to pick up their first Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) championship in program history. We had an opportunity to sit down with Head Women’s Soccer Coach Ashley Cordeiro to discuss the upcoming season.
What are your thoughts on the success of last season and how do you take the program to the next level?
Last year was an exciting season with a lot of records broken with the most wins and the most goals scored. Coming runner-up again was good, but I feel like there is always room to grow and improve each year. Moving into my sixth season here and with every season going better then the previous we want to continue on that successful path. The goal is to try to do something we have never done before which is to win conference. That is what we have our eyes on this season.
Having lost 14 sophomores last May… could you talk about your freshman class and the team overall?
We have seven returners that are a great foundation for the program and they know what we stand for as a team. They know how we want to play and they have set that foundation for the freshman to follow.
We pretty much have a new back line with only one returner there. We have had to do a lot of work this preseason to show the freshman how we want to play and they have all adapted well and things are coming together. We do have one transfer, Madeline Reeves who is adapting well and will help the back line. Charley Prouse, an incoming freshman and the youngest member on the team brings a lot of experience and composure in the back we are looking for.
Leticia Tessi who plays up top who we really believe can be the star of the show in some games. She is really dangerous up top and can cause some trouble for our opponents’ back line. We have some sophomores in the midfield who will be the engine of the team and a couple of freshmen who will surround them that are adapting really well to our style of play.
You recruited your largest international class of players this season… how they will help this season?
We wanted to go the route of getting more international players this year just because some of their experiences. They have been playing soccer for most of their lives and at high levels back home. We hope they will bring in a winning mentality and help push this program further then it has ever been before. We have eight international students this year and all of them will contribute to the program.
You return two strong goal keepers this season… how does that up the level of confidence on the field.
Honestly, having two keepers in Jade Massing and Jessi Ferneau we feel really lucky to have both of them. They were both huge impacts for our success last season. They broke the program record for how many shutouts in a season and are already looking forward to trying to break their own record this year. Jade was awarded the NJCAA National Keeper of the Week award last season. We are looking for another great season out of both players and for them to continue their success. They both have a season under their belt and understand the level and what is expected. Both have grown into this leadership style and with the new backline they are able to communicate and get what they need to be successful.
Having finished conference runner-up the past two seasons… what does the program need to win the conference championship?
Obviously, we are a young team with a bunch of freshmen coming in, but we had our team meeting on Monday and set our goals for the year. I do see this team coming together… you know they are already close both on and off the field… and we have only been here for two weeks.
We all have the same goal in mind. We have a fighting spirit and the will to win and the understanding that we are all doing this together. We are one big family and we want to accomplish this together. We have the squad this year that can really take us to the next left and get us over the hump.
With not being able to have your scrimmage last week… how is the team doing in managing the heat and preparing for your first match?
With the heat this preseason it was a rough couple of days especially with our internationals who arrived to a climate they are not used to. We all pushed through and survived preseason. With the scrimmage getting cancelled we held an Intersquad scrimmage to see what is working and what needed to be tweaked before our first match.
The team will make their home debut next Monday, August 22nd at 5:00 pm. They will face the Cougars of Redlands Community College.