2008 WEST VIRGINIA ILLUSION THE SKY’S THE LIMIT TABLE OF CONTENTS Page # Information 2 2008 Schedule and Ticket Information 3 Illusion Facilities 4 2008 Season Outlook—Goalkeepers and Defenders 5 2008 Season Outlook—Midfielders and Forwards 6 Illusion Staff 7 Team Roster—Alphabetical, Numerical, and Photo 8-18 Player Profiles 19 W-League Alignment and Playoff Information 20-21 Opponent Information 22 The 2007 W-League Season 23 Atlantic Division Schedule 24-25 Directions to Fields 26 Media Information 27-32 Sponsors Credits: The 2008 West Virginia Illusion guide has been published by West Virginia Illusion, LLC. Managing Editor: Michael Minnich Contributors: Joe Dorini, Jamie Kocher Cover Design: Michael Minnich Photos: Courtesy of institutions Printer: West Virginia University Printing Services © 2008 West Virginia Illusion LLC 2008 WEST VIRGINIA ILLUSION 1 W-LEAGUE INAUGURAL SEASON 2008 WEST VIRGINIA ILLUSION THE SKY’S THE LIMIT 2008 SCHEDULE AND TICKETS To order tickets by phone, contact Day Opponent Time head coach/general manager Joe Dorini by phone at 304-983-7761 or via e-mail at May 10 Charlotte Lady Eagles 5:00 p.m. [email protected]. 2008 Ticket Prices May 18 Tampa Bay HCU Hellenic 7:00 p.m. Adult Season Package $28 Youth/Student Package $17 Adult Flex Package $14 May 24 Atlanta Silverbacks 7:30 p.m. Student Flex Package $8 General Admission May 31 Carolina RailHawks 7:30 p.m. Adult Tickets $5 Youth/Student Tickets $3 7:30 p.m. *Tickets for the season opener June 7 Carolina Dynamo against Charlotte are ALL $1 @ Bradenton Athletics 5:30 p.m. Season Package June 12 Season tickets cover all seven Illusion home games and provide a discount June 13 @ Tampa HCU Hellenic 8:00 p.m. on the price of buying individual game tickets. June 20 @ Carolina Dynamo 5:30 p.m. Flex Package Flex tickets give you admission to three Illusion home games of your June 21 @ Hampton Roads Piranhas 8:00 p.m. choice and provide a discount on the price of buying individual game tick- June 28 @ Richmond Kickers Destiny 7:00 p.m. ets. Group Rates Richmond Kickers Destiny 7:30 p.m. Available for groups of 20 or more. July 11 Contact Joe Dorini at 304-983-7761 or [email protected] for July 12 Hampton Roads Piranhas 7:30 p.m. more information. Duvall-Rosier Field July 18 @ Charlotte Lady Eagles 7:00 p.m. All West Virginia Illusion home matches will be played at Duvall- Rosier Field on the campus of Fair- July 19 @ Atlanta Silverbacks 3:00 p.m. mont State University. Gates open one hour before kickoff. All times are Eastern Standard 2008 WEST VIRGINIA ILLUSION 2 W-LEAGUE INAUGURAL SEASON 2008 WEST VIRGINIA ILLUSION THE SKY’S THE LIMIT ILLUSION FACILITIES EAST-WEST STADIUM East-West Stadium is a Fairmont landmark originally constructed in the late 1920s as a public park/recreation facility including a swimming pool, tennis courts and combined baseball-football stadium. The stadium walls are stone masonry, encircling one city block. East-West Stadium has played host to outdoor sporting and com- munity events for nearly 70 DUVALL-ROSIER FIELD years. Dedicated in 1927, the stadium was named for former President Jo- In 2004, synthetic turf was seph Rosier. In 2000, the name Duvall was added to honor Harold S. installed. Located in Fairmont, East-West Stadium will be one of Duvall, football coach from 1952-1971. The field had a major renova- two game sites for the Super-20 West Virginia Illusion. tion in 2007 to add a FieldTurf playing surface to be used for multiple sports. Located in Fairmont, Duvall-Rosier Field will serve as the home field for the West Virginia Illusion senior team. PRO PERFORMANCE RX The Pro Plex arena at Pro Performance is a 270’x180’ Generation 8 The field is 120 yards long and 67 yards wide. Locker rooms are lo- FieldTurf surface. The Pro cated adjacent to the field, while restrooms and concession booths Plex area has the field mark- are located on-site. ings for football, soccer and lacrosse. The stadium bleachers, which seat 5,000, are crowned by a four- booth press box with accommodations for both visiting and home radio as well as a spacious media area and a private box. The Pro Plex arena will serve as the practice center “Fairmont State, being a brand new facility, is amazing. They're ex- for the West Virginia Illu- ceptional right now. They're helping us out in every way, and hope- sion senior and Super-20 fully we put a good showing out there.”—Illusion head coach Joe teams and is located in Mylan Park outside of Morgantown. Dorini “Pro Performance is a great facility. In Morgantown there's not many great flat soccer fields out there, so having a FieldTurf CLINE SOCCER COMPLEX arena where we can train and not having to worry about the The YMCA/Paul Cline Memorial Youth bounces is exceptional. Not to mention having the equipment and Sports Complex is a state-of-the art multi- the facilities all together is perfect for the girls to do their off- purpose facility that boasts eight full-size season training and get them ready for college as well.”— soccer fields, including two with stadium lllusion head coach Joe Dorini seating, complete with lights and soccer specific scoreboards. It also features locker rooms with showers, bathrooms and DIRECTIONS TO ALL SITES CAN changing areas. BE FOUND LATER IN THE MEDIA Located in Beckley, the Cline Soccer Complex will be one of two homes for the Super-20 West Virginia Illusion. GUIDE 2008 WEST VIRGINIA ILLUSION 3 W-LEAGUE INAUGURAL SEASON 2008 WEST VIRGINIA ILLUSION THE SKY’S THE LIMIT 2008 SEASON OUTLOOK Goalkeepers Head coach Joe Dorini has two fine options between the pipes this summer. Megan Jessee and Andrea Kaminski have both been starters in the BIG EAST Conference. Jessee made 52 appearances in goal for the University of Connecticut Huskies between 2002 and 2005; Kaminski has been the starter for the University of Cincinnati the past two seasons. “I think Megan will be good as soon as she gets a little more fit,” said Dorini. “We will have a great shot-stopper and top-level goal- keeper to stifle the other team's attacks.” “With Megan and Andrea coming in, I'd say we have one of the higher-level goalkeeping positions in the league right now.” Defenders “We have a very strong backbone, and just from the age of some of the older players, we have more maturity. I think we can lead, and then we can work on the tactical part more than anything else,” said Dorini of his defense. If the Illusion defense is the backbone of the team, Christen “Suggie” Seaman is the player that gives it structure. Seaman was a key member of Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown’s defense from 1999 to 2002 and will also serve as an assistant coach to Dorini. “Suggie is a top quality defender and will solidify the back line. She is great in the air and has also good leadership qualities. I look for her to be the stabilizer of the team,” Dorini said. Kelsey Fowler, who just completed her junior year at West Virginia University, is making the move from midfielder to defender this year and likely will partner Seaman in the center. “Kelsey will see a lot of time as part of our disabling back line defense. She is a player that will run all day and will not give up,” said Dorini. Canadian Nicole Mailloux is also a likely starter. Mailloux, another WVU product, is comfortable in the center of defense as well as on the wing. “She brings international experience, having played for Canada's under-20 national team. She will also make an immediate impact,” said Dorini. Natalie Cocchi, who completed her WVU career this fall, will also bring size (5-foot-11) and experience (a school record 87 appear- ances) to the middle of the Illusion rearguard. “Natalie is a great late addition to the team, a very surprising addition. I am very happy that she decided to stick around the area to be part of the team. She has a lot of obligations this summer and will be with us as much as possible. She's definitely going to be a starter when she's here...great size, great mental ability to bring to the game.” Jamie Morrison, Jennifer Ball, Haley Thaxton, and Bailey Bryant are also in the running for time. Greer Barnes, predominately a mid- fielder, could also play on the left side. “Defensively, we don't really have to teach anything new. We're going to keep the system that's been going through WVU. With pretty much 95% of our back line being from WVU, I think that's our advantage more than anything else. These players know each other and are used to working under the same system,” Dorini said. 2008 WEST VIRGINIA ILLUSION 4 W-LEAGUE INAUGURAL SEASON 2008 WEST VIRGINIA ILLUSION THE SKY’S THE LIMIT 2008 SEASON OUTLOOK Midfielders “Our midfield is very deep and very talented,” said head coach Joe Dorini. “Offensively and defensively, this group should be a big key to our success.” Veteran Marisa Kanela will be a fixture on the left flank. Kanela, originally from Wantagh, N.Y., is sixth all-time at West Virginia in scoring, finishing her career in 2005 with 28 goals and 20 assists in 85 appearances. “She can change a game with any touch on the ball.