TEAM OVERVIEW
The SoccerPlus CT Reds joined the
Women’s Premiere Soccer League (WPSL) on
January 22, 2007 and with that came a
short prep time to put a roster and
staff together, not to mention their own
home field. All three would take some
time, with the roster slowly filling out
over the first couple months before
their season debut in May.
"I am very excited about SoccerPlus
Connecticut joining the WPSL," said Reds
head coach Tony DiCicco back in January.
"The WPSL has been synonymous with
exceptional amateur women's soccer and
player development. I want to add to the
professional atmosphere in the league by
offering an outstanding team and club,
helping players continue their evolution
as they prepare for a professional
league re-launch... which hopefully is
in our not too distant future."
The roster was led by F/M Tiffany
Weimer, the all-time leading goal scorer
at Penn State University. Manya Makoski,
a very talented defender is a main stay
on U.S. Youth National Teams and
recently graduated from Arizona State
University.
The roster put together players from
across the globe, as four different
countries were represented, in the
United States, Canada, Australia and New
Zealand.
Some player’s took the field together
for the first time against the UConn
women’s soccer team in April as it was a
chance to meet each other for the very
first time. Ironically, a number of
UConn player’s they were playing
against, would be future teammates in
Niki Cross, Liz Eng, Sarah MacIsaac and
Brittany Tegeler.
The field at FSA, the permanent home for
the Reds was continuing to be put
together, although it wouldn’t be ready
until July. Instead, Connecticut called
Central Connecticut State University its
home for two games, then Wethersfield
High School for one, before eventually
opening FSA Park for their final two
home games in early July.
The team held their first ever media day
on May 9th, hosting
newspapers and local news channels from
across the state. The day started with
an introduction by J.P. Dellacamera "the
voice of women's soccer" who has done
soccer play-by-play for the World Cup,
Olympics and US National Team, then
concluded with an open practice to the
media.
In addition, many Connecticut soccer
legends were in attendance, including
former UConn men’s head soccer coach Joe
Morrone. Head Coach Tony DiCicco, a
Wethersfield native, spoke about
bringing a team to this region and how
it will help soccer thrive in this
state.
“Coaching this team is so exciting for
me,” DiCicco said. “Our players are
educated, articulate and polite. These
are elite players. We have future
professionals, current and future
national team players and they are fun
to coach.
“We wanted to create a team for top
players with Connecticut ties, an
environment where they could improve
their games and get closer to their
dreams.”
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WPSL Regular Season
2007 SoccerPlus CT Schedule
SAT MAY 12 at Bay State
Select T, 1-1
SAT MAY 19 New York AC
W, 4-1
SAT JUNE 2
Adirondack Lynx W,
2-1
SAT JUNE 9
Massachusetts Stingers L, 1-3
FRI JUNE 15 at Long Island
Fury T, 1-1
SAT JUNE 30 at Central
Delaware Future W, 7-0
SUN JULY 1
at Atlantic City Diablos
W, 3-1
SAT JULY 7
Philadelphia Liberty
W, 3-0
SUN JULY 8
Boston Aztecs W,
4-3
FRI JULY 13 at New England
Mutiny T, 1-1
WED JULY 18 at
Long Island Fury*
L, 2-3 OT
*WPSL Playoffs – 1st Round
The Reds Opened up their inaugural WPSL
regular season on the road at Stonehill
College in Easton, MA on May 12th
when they took on the Bay State Select.
Despite the result of a 1-1 draw,
DiCicco was happy with his team.
"We played everyone to see how they
would react in a league game,” said the
Reds head coach. “Certain players showed
some promise and I was very pleased.”
Lauren Erwin netted the first ever Reds
goal as Manya Makoski earned the assist.
The Reds then played their first ever
home game at Central Connecticut State
University on May 19th where they
defeated the New York AC 4-1 to earn
their first ever league win. Tiffany
Weimer had her first goal of the year to
go along with two assists and Casey
Frobey, Heather Hathorn and Brittany
Tegeler all scored for the Reds who were
seated atop the North Division of the
East Conference following the victory.
A 2-1 win over the Adirondack Lynx
cemented their spot in first on June 2nd
before a stretch of two games that would
put Connecticut’s back to the wall the
rest of the season.
A 3-1 loss to the Massachusetts Stingers
at Wethersfield High School dropped the
Reds out of first and a 1-1 tie with the
defending champion Long Island Fury a
week later did not help the cause.
Connecticut was needing a win that game
and fell apart early on, allowing the
Fury to take a 1-0 lead off the opening
kickoff, however, the Reds regrouped as
Tiffany Weimer squared it all up at 1.
The Reds then faced their longest road
trip of the season, traveling to Dover,
DE to face the Central Delaware Future
before going to Atlantic City the
following day. Connecticut started off
the weekend right with a 7-0 trouncing
of the Future as five different players
scored. The 3-1 win over the Atlantic
City Diablos pulled the Reds closer to
playoff contention, but they still had
three crucial matches remaining.
On July 7th, the Reds opened
up FSA Park with a 3-0 victory, beating
the Philadelphia Liberty soundly and
making the July 8th game with
the Boston Aztecs all that more
important.
“We are basically in the playoffs now
because if we lose our season will be
over after the game with New England
[their regular season finale],” said
DiCicco. “We cannot afford to lose
anymore. We are in need of wins and we
got the three points we were looking for
tonight.”
Connecticut took care of business with
the Aztecs 4-3 in perhaps the most
memorable game in the short history of
the Reds. Down 3-1 at the half, Weimer
scored three of her four goals in the
second half to complete a dramatic
comeback. With the win, SoccerPlus moved
into a tie for second place and a win
against the Mutiny Friday, July 13th
would give the Reds the North Division
Title.
The Mutiny and Reds squared off at
Agawam High School and the game lived up
to the anticipation. New England scored
first in the second half, but the Reds
once again came back and the game ended
in a 1-1 draw. Despite the tie,
Connecticut qualified for the playoffs
and a rematch with the defending
champion Fury waited in the wings.
WPSL PLAYOFFS:
SoccerPlus CT Reds
@ Long Island Fury
HEMPSTEAD, NY (7/18/07)
– The Fury established control of the first
half early on, constantly winning balls and
keeping it in their end of the field.
The Reds were out shot in the half 7 to 3
and Long Island had 4 corners to
Connecticut’s none.
However, towards the end of the first, the
Reds began to take over as DiCicco began to
use some fresh legs off the bench.
Connecticut’s subs created some chances and
kept the ball in their half the last 5-10
minutes, swinging the momentum in their
hands, but no goals were scored as the half
ended in a 0-0 tie.
The second half, however, began like the
first as Long Island received 3 quick
corners, but they came up empty each time.
As the second half progressed, the Reds
became complacent with the ball and the Fury
capitalized as Jasmine Spencer intercepted a
Reds pass at midfield. Spencer created her
own breakaway by outrunning two defenders
and beating goalkeeper Brett Maron, blasting
a shot into the left corner to give the Fury
a 1-0 lead.
Connecticut, much like most of the season,
began to pick up play after falling in a
hole. Niki Cross first had a free kick from
30 yards out from the top right of the box,
but she soared it just over the crossbar.
Tiffany Weimer had a chance one minute later
as she possessed the ball in the top left of
the box. She fired a shot on goal, but it
deflected off the crossbar before it was
cleared out of harms way by a Fury defender.
The Reds had very little chances as the
second half came to a close, down 1-0, as
four minutes of stoppage time were added.
Just as Connecticut found themselves with
their backs against the wall all month, the
Reds came through again as Tiffany Weimer
received a pass from Kristen Graczyk. She
created an opening and put home the game
tying goal to force overtime.
Two fifteen minute overtimes were added,
with no sudden death. The first overtime
began just like the first and second halves
for the Fury. Spencer found herself on a
break away and attacked the net in the
penalty box.
Reds keeper Brett Maron and Spencer met with
what seemed to be a clean clear from the
Connecticut keeper, but Spencer lay in the
middle of the box, prompting the official to
call a penalty kick in the 92nd
minute.
Kaitlin Donovan took it and beat Maron as
she put it in the top left of the net to
give Long Island a 2-1 lead.
The rest of the 1st overtime
played out with neither team threatening.
The second overtime was a different story,
as the Reds furiously tried to even the
score. However, Long Island was the team to
strike off a free kick that Spencer put home
for her second goal of the game to increase
the Fury lead to 3-1.
Weimer answered in stoppage time, but it was
too little too late as the game ended 3-2.
“It was a very good game,” said Reds head
coach Tony DiCicco. “It was a very high
level women’s game. It was a tough loss, but
our players should be very proud to take the
defending champs into overtime. They put
themselves in a position to win this game.”
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Women’s Open Cup
The Reds continued a busy season in their
first year of existence by participating in
the 2007 Women’s Open Cup Tournament. After
receiving a first round bye, Connecticut
took on the New York AC on May 6th.
In a 3-1 win, Tiffany Weimer scored two
second half goals as the Reds advanced to
the Regional Semifinals.
Connecticut took on the Adirondack Lynx for
a spot in the Regional Finals. Weimer once
again led the Reds to victory; scoring 2
goals and assisting on another in a 3-1 win
over the Lynx. The win advanced SoccerPlus
CT to the Regional Finals in Oakford, PA on
June 24th.
The United German Hungarians were the
opponent and the game was played at UGH, but
Connecticut had no problems, winning 4-0 in
the first shutout in Reds history, including
WPSL games.
“It’s about time,” said DiCicco. “We’ve done
enough to have a shutout in the past, but
we’ve had some major breakdowns defensively
to prevent that. This team should be getting
more shutouts. The Regional final was a good
time to get our first.”
With the win, Connecticut advanced to the
National Semifinals in Seattle, WA as the
Final Four took place August 3-5th.
.
The Reds took on Ajax America, a perennial
powerhouse in the first Semifinal match,
falling to their WPSL counterparts 1-0,
ending the run at an Open Cup National
Championship.
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U-23 National Cup
Connecticut
traveled back to Oakford, PA in the middle
of July to try to put a second team into the
Final Four weekend in Seattle, WA in early
August as they participated in the Region I
U-23 National Cup.
On Saturday July 14th, the Reds
played in the Regional Quarterfinals,
defeating the New Jersey Rangers 7-0 as five
different players scored as Connecticut made
it to the second day of the two day
tournament.
Sunday morning saw the Reds play in the
Regional Semifinals and they once again came
away with a win, defeating Kirkwood 1-0. The
win advanced Connecticut to the Regional
Finals against a talented Bethesda squad.
Hailing from Maryland, Bethesda provided the
Reds with some problems as Connecticut
squandered a number of scoring chances and
fell 1-0, temporarily ending their U-23 run.
However, Bethesda withdrew from the Final
Four in Seattle, advancing the Reds to the
three day tournament.
Connecticut
took on the ICSL All-Stars, who hail from
California, in the Semifinals and came away
with a 7-0 win, following a dominant second
half performance that saw the Reds score 5
goals. The victory advanced them to the
championship match against the KC Dynamos.
In that game, the Reds got on the board in
the first half as Tiffany Weimer scored,
unassisted. Connecticut added another later
in the match to give them a 2-0 win and the
U-23 National Cup Championship.
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National Team Appearances
D Manya Makoski
– Makoski is currently playing with the U-21
Women’s National Team in the 2007 Nordic Cup
being played in Finland. Winners of Group B,
the United States has advanced to play
Germany in tomorrow’s championship match.
This is the 11th consecutive year
the Americans have made the Nordic Cup
Championship. Manya started and played the
full 90 minutes in each game of group play.
She also traveled to Germany earlier this
summer with the U-21 squad.
GK Alyssa Naeher
– Naeher was named to the 2007 Pan American
National Team that is currently competing in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Alyssa started in
their 3-1 win over Panama on July 14th
and then earned a shutout against Argentina
in a 3-0 victory in their next game on July
18th. The Americans have advanced
to the semifinals after winning Group B with
a 3-1 record. The semifinal match with
Canada is being played tonight at 6:30 PM at
the legendary Maracana Stadium. The winner
will move on to the championship on July 26th
against the winner of Brazil and Mexico.
D Hannah Bromley
– A member of the New Zealand National Team,
Bromley took time away from the Reds earlier
this season when she went back to her
homeland for a couple World Cup tune-ups
against Canada. Bromley, who came off the
bench in both matches, will be playing in
this summer’s upcoming World Cup.
F/M Tiffany Weimer
– Weimer participated in the 2007 Futbol
Internacional Tournament in Alabama back in
April with the US U-21 National Team where
they defeated China and Trinidad & Tobago
2-0 before tying Canada in a 0-0 draw.
Tiffany was also named to the Sky Blue
Select, who played the Chinese National Team
at Rutgers University on June 12th;
the game ended in a 0-0 draw.
F Katie Schoepfer
– Katie trained with the U-20 National Team
earlier this year when she traveled to The
Home Depot Center in Carson, CA from
February 4-11th. The ultimate
goal for the Big Ten All-Freshman selection
from Penn St. is to make the squad for the
2008 U-20 World Cup.
GK Jill Mastroianni
– Jill earned her first U-17 National Team
shutout in March when the US team defeated
the U-17 German squad 2-0. Mastroianni
played in one WPSL game earlier this season,
coming in off the bench in the Reds 3-0 win
over the Philadelphia Liberty.
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Final WPSL Statistics (Including Playoffs)
Points:
*Tiffany Weimer (34), Casey Frobey (7),
Heather Hathorn (7), Brittany Tegeler (7),
Becky Ryan (4), Caroline Katie Schoepfer
(4), Leah Blayney (2), Kristi Lefebvre (3),
Lauren Erwin (2), Kristen Graczyk (2),
Walden (2), Niki Cross (1), Sarah MacIsaac
(1), Manya Makoski (1)
Goals:
*Tiffany Weimer (14), Casey Frobey (3),
Heather Hathorn (3), Brittany Tegeler (3),
Becky Ryan (2), Lauren Erwin (1), Kristen
Graczyk (1), Kristi Lefebvre (1), Katie
Schoepfer (1)
Assists:
*Tiffany Weimer (6), Leah Blayney (2), Liz
Eng (2), Katie Schoepfer (2), Caroline
Walden (2), Niki Cross (1), Casey Frobey
(1), Heather Hathorn (1), Kristi Lefebvre
(1), Sarah MacIsaac (1), Manya Makoski (1),
Brittany Tegeler (1)
*Weimer finished the season as the WPSL’s
leading goal scorer and point’s leader. She
was second in assists.
