Owls' Positional Preview: Forwards and Midfielders

2/1/2021 2:55:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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BOCA RATON, Fla. – The back-to-back Conference USA regular season-winning Florida Atlantic University women's soccer team begins the 2021 season this Thursday at home against Utah Valley. Here is the first of two position primers with head coach Patrick Baker ahead of the opener, with this segment focusing on the team's forwards and midfielders.

Forwards
Losses due to graduation: Tiril Haga, Elisha Holmes, Pernille Velta
Returnees: Madison Davenport, Thelma Hermannsdottir, Miracle Porter, Mia Sennes (redshirt)
Addition: Gabi Cimino

The returning group replaces a trio of four-year key contributors who recorded a combined 41 goals and 39 assists across 235 career matches. But the cupboard isn't bare, as Porter and Hermannsdottir are both upperclassmen, as is Davenport. Porter has 57 matches with 14 starts – and eight goals and four assists – under her belt; Hermannsdottir two starts in 39 matches, and Davenport three starts in 40. Davenport and Sennes are both recovering from injury, and Cimino is a heralded freshman.

Baker's thoughts (alphabetically)
On Cimino – "Gabi is a very highly acclaimed youth player that we were excited to bring to FAU. She's slowly but surely adjusting to the college environment and the demands in training and games. There's definitely glimpses, she strikes the ball really well."
On Davenport – "Madi is a bit of a tweener, I think she's best suited up top but she can also play in the midfield very easily (her minutes in last week's exhibition came in the mid). She's capable of both."
On Hermannsdottir – "Thelma has become probably our most dominant forward, (taking into account) her work on both sides of the ball. She can shape it well, press well, close down well. She's been equally as good, on the attack, both in tight spaces and when we can open our opponent up and get her into space."
On Porter – "Miracle is probably in the best period of her career right now as far as consistency and training, creating chances and scoring goals. Sometimes when it's your last go-round, things can be really good and that's our hope for her."
On Sennes – "Mia, I couldn't be happier for her. She's coming off a long injury, and now others are finally starting to get glimpses of what we knew when we first recruited her. She is very talented and will be a wonderful attribute that most people don't know about it, or have forgotten about, since she's been away from our team."

Midfielders
Losses due to graduation: Jessica Monteiro, Mary O'Hara, Abby Ribas
Returnees: Ashley Grisley, Emma Grissom, Gi Krstec, Molly Setsma, Myla Sharpless, Sammy Vitols
Additions: Tatum Ireland, Brooke Jones, Natalie Mangayi
(Also, Jodi Smith has enrolled early and is practicing with the team, but cannot suit up until the fall. She is playing both midfield and defense for the squad currently.)

The midfield group brings back two starters in Vitols and Krstec, but will need to replace four-year starters Monteiro and O'Hara. Vitols has started 39 of 61 matches, including all 21 in 2019, and is the leading returner with both seven goals and four assists from that season. Krstec has started all 21 matches she's appeared in, in her two seasons, but both were cut short due to injury. Also back is another upperclassman in Grissom, and three second-year returnees in Grisley, Setsma, and Sharpless. The three new players – Ireland, Jones and Mangayi – are all expected to play big roles as well.

Baker's thoughts (alphabetically)
On Grisley – "Ashley keeps the game simple, gets in good spots, can get it and can give it. We've used her a lot of places, but this year, she's shown that she's taken her game to another level; getting on the ball, spraying the ball around and breaking up counters."
On Grissom – "Emma has stepped up (in previous years due to others' injuries) and has been an integral part to our success. She saw a lot of minutes last year behind Jessi Monteiro and Mary O (O'Hara) and has done a nice job (this fall) in her new role. I'm pleased with where we're at with her there."
On Ireland – "Tatum is an LSU transfer that is very skillful and is a very talented attacking player. Her getting an understanding of our shape and system is key, she continues get better every week. Couldn't be happier her and the potential impact she can make in our lineup."
On Jones – "Brooke transferred in from James Madison, we had liked her as a youth player. As we were building the team, we needed an attacking player, and we thought she'd be a nice addition out wide."
On Krstec – "For Gi, fitness is never a concern, she's like the Energizer Bunny. (Through injuries), we've jokingly said, if we'd had her, what might we have done in the conference tournament? But she is an invaluable player for us and is a leader. We're expecting her to have a great year."
On Mangayi – "Natalie has probably been, since day one in the fall, the most impactful freshman we have. She's got a great engine, is very clean technically, is good on the ball and equally good off the ball taking players on. She probably could be a forward, but we've moved her down to get our best on the field."
On Setsma – "Molly came in as a freshman and played behind Sammy and Gi, got minutes, got some experience. She had a really good fall and has done so many good things for us. She's more consistent and more dynamic, and has a chance to have a really good sophomore year."
On Sharpless – "Myla, from year one to year two, was playing behind seniors and veteran players and now has the opportunity for more involvement. Very clean on the ball, good skillset, good passer, links the game well and has a very good tactical understanding."
On Vitols – "Sammy is our leading goal and assist person coming back. To be a senior, like Miracle, she is motivated and driven. She has gotten herself really fit and I'm really excited to see what this year holds for her."

Stay tuned Tuesday for details on the remainder of the squad, the Owls' defenders and goalkeepers.