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New England Mutiny announce first wave of signings |
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SPRINGFIELD The New England Mutiny is pleased to announce their current signings for its seventh season in the Women's Premier Soccer League which kicks off on Saturday, May 16th at Northampton High School against the Maine Tide.
Jenny Maurer (East Longmeadow) will return for a franchise record seventh season. The former captain for the Boston College Eagles was also a member of the Under-21 U.S. Women's National Team and All-WPSL selection. Maurer will not have long-time midfield partner Meghan Schnur alongside her this season as Schnur has been playing in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). The Mutiny will now rely heavily on Wilbraham, Mass. native Danielle Dakin. Dakin, the youngest player in franchise history when she signed as a high school sophomore two years ago, was recently selected as the Massachusetts Female Soccer Player of the Year. Rounding out the midfield will be another key returnee, Becky Gundling (Farmington, Conn.). Gundling has been patrolling the midfield for Len Tsantiris' charges at the University of Connecticut, where she has been a starter since her freshman season.
The backline will see three more UConn Huskies as Karen Gurnon , Meghan Cunningham and Jessica Diakun return for the Mutiny. Gurnon, signed by the Mutiny as a Tolland high school senior, finished last season as the Mutiny's starting center back where she also started for UConn in her first campaign. This will be Meghan Cunningham's third season with the Mutiny. The Simsbury, Conn. product is building a reputation for big game heroics with two penalty kick game-winners in NCAA tournament play and a penalty kick game-winner for the Mutiny that sent them to the WPSL National Finals in 2007. Mutiny stalwart Jessica Diakun (Glastonbury, Conn.) returns to the squad for her fifth season. Returning from a season-ending injury a year ago, "JD" will also play a fifth year at Storrs. Forward Erin Clark (Somers, Conn.) rounds out the UConn contingent. Clark returns for her third season having scored 11 goals in two seasons for the Mutiny, including the game-winner versus SoccerPlus CT which catapulted the Mutiny into the WPSL National Final Four last year.
Canadian National Team goalkeeper, Stephanie Labbe, is playing professionally in Sweden, so the Mutiny will look to replace the former WPSL Goalkeeper of the Year. Vying for that spot will be Lauren Brodeur (Wilbraham) who guarded the posts for coach John Natale at the University of Hartford this past fall where she started all 19 games; posting a .65 goals against average.
Newcomers Brittany Berry and Riley Houle conclude the early signings for 2009. Berry (Springfield) set a record for 59 goals in a season at Sabis H.S. before moving on to Wilbraham & Monson this past fall. Houle (Windham, Conn.) is fresh off her performance in the Algarve Cup for the U-17 National Team. She also received the "Golden Boot" award given to the leading scorer at the Elite Soccer Program (ESP); a camp for the top 150 high school players in the nation
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