The 2017 season was a great success for Central Connecticut’s womens’ soccer team. The season saw them finish third in the Northeast Conference standings behind an impressive six-game in-conference winning streak.

Their place in the standings warranted an appearance in the conference tournament, where they would be eliminated in the semifinals against Saint Francis (PA), who would go on to win the tournament.

The team returns much of their core from last season and have their sights set on a return to the conference tournament and more.

The Blue Devils will have to overcome the loss of five key contributors come graduation, the most difficult loss will be that of defenders Jennifer Cafferky and Brianna Scaldaferri, who were instrumental in the Blue Devils having statistically the best defense in the NEC. The team pitched 10 shutouts, with all six of their NEC wins resulting in a shutout.

The loss of Cafferky is the most significant, as she was the NEC defensive player of the year of her four years as a Blue Devil.

Through their first three games, the team has deployed senior Shelbie Carr and junior Shauny Alterisio as their primary defenders, as well as significant contributions from senior Nicole Russell and freshman Delaney Lawler. Midfielders Erica Bardes and Brianna Williams have also both spent time in the back four.

But the team’s most important returnee on defense comes in the form of senior goalkeeper Ashley Cavanaugh, who was in the goal for all 10 of the team’s shutouts. In her first year as a starter in 2017, she was named first team all-NEC as well as goalkeeper of the year thanks to a stellar .838 save percentage.

“She’s been around here for a long time. I think her development under Shawn Kelly, our goalkeeper coach, has been tremendous,” said head coach Mick D’Arcy. “She’s a good leader back there. She commands the respect from the back four; they work hard for her.”

On the offensive side, the Blue Devils lost forwards Laura Casanovas Diaz and Kelly Halligan as well as midfielder Alex Zampini. Despite these losses, the team returns four of its five top goal scorers from last season: midfielders Jenna Rae Covello, Yo Tachibana, forward Danielle Pearse, in addition to Bardes.

Covello, who led the team with five goals, did so while only starting five contests (though she appeared in all 18).

Head coach Mick D’Arcy expects Covello and Tachibana, as well as senior midfielder Charlotte Maurer and Williams, to thrive in a more prominent role.

“Now it’s a chance for somebody else to step up,” D’Arcy said. “This is their time.”

Freshman midfielder Roma McLaughlin is also someone that D’Arcy expects to be a contributor on offense and was pleased with her performance through the team’s first week of play.

The offense’s greatest strength, according to D’Arcy, is the ability of the midfielders’ to pick up passes and pass it along to their forwards, specifically naming Tachibana and McLaughlin.

“I think we’re going to create plenty of chances. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem for us as the year goes on,” he said.

Overall, the team possesses a great deal of depth, having already deployed 21 different players in their first two games.

In the NEC preseason coaches’ poll, CCSU was picked to finish third, receiving one of the eight first-place votes. They will be chasing the defending champions’ Red Flash and the Knights of Fairleigh Dickinson, who also reached the conference finals last season.

The team’s first conference game will be a visit to Robert Morris on Sep. 23 and will host FDU in their first NEC home contest, where they will look to begin their quest to return to the conference tournament.