University of Richmond Athletics
Soccer Captains Announced For 2015 Season
07/31/2015 | Women's Soccer
Ahead of the 2015 season, the University of Richmond Spiders women's soccer team has announced tri-captains for the campaign, the 20th in school history. Captains this season will be senior defender Dana Bernetich (Mount Laurel, New Jersey), redshirt sophomore forward Meaghan Carrigan (Greenville, South Carolina) and senior forward Ashley Riefner (Mechanicsville, Virginia / Atlee High).
Back in January, a leadership group was formed, with representation from all of the classes. The group met each week and worked to discuss team issues and planning and did exercises, under the direction of associate head coach Mika Elovaara, to develop habits and patterns of interaction and understanding of the responsibilities of the leadership of every class and by every player.
“Through this process, we saw some players emerge, both as players and as people, who were taking more responsibility on their own,” said head coach Peter Albright, the only coach in the program's history.
“We felt like we were in a position where we could have a vote and see where the team fell on this issue. The three that were selected were very highly regarded by their peers. They are top-level players, top-level students, young women of character and they have a vision of the team and the program that is uncompromising.”
Bernetich is arguably the team's best defender. She played in all 20 games last season and has 46 games for her three-year career entering her final season of eligibility.
Carrigan won the A-10 Rookie of the Year award in 2014 after suffering a season-ending injury in the 2013 fall camp. She led the team with 14 goals, second-most by a first-year player in the country. She was named First-Team All-Conference and the VaSID All-State Rookie of the Year in Virginia.
Riefner was the only player in the Atlantic 10 Conference with nine goals and nine assists, both second-most in the team in 2014. She tied Carrigan for the team lead with three game-winning goals and also found herself on the First-Team All-Conference roster and was an All-State performer.
“I think our young players want to be led by someone who is a purposeful leader who will lead us in the direction of having a great team that wins games,” added Albright.
“Since they have been named captain in the spring, all three of them in different ways have put in a lot of time in strengthening their connections with the players. They have done a great job of gathering consensus and presenting ideas to us to give us feedback on team issues, from the mundane to the really significant.”
The Spiders, which finished 9-9-2 in 2014, enter the 20th season in program history returning six of the nine goal scorers from last season, amounting to 33 of the 37 scored last year coming back. Included in the returning players are the top-three goal producers and all three starting forwards from last season's squad, which also set the school mark for assists in a single season. The Spiders were the second-best offense in the A-10 last season and in the top 20 percent in the nation in scoring offense.
The team reports for check-in day on Tuesday, August 4. They leave for a training trip in California the following day.
