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Feature: Brown Women’s Soccer 2019 Season Preview
8/27/2019 12:03:00 PM | Women's Soccer
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Brown University women's soccer opens its 2019 season with a pair of home games against Hofstra on Friday, Aug. 30 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) and UMass Lowell on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 11:00 a.m. (ESPN+) as the Bears enter year four under head coach Kia McNeill.
"I feel really good about the team," McNeill said. "So far through preseason there has been a great energy and buzz amongst the players. It's still early and we are still working through some things, but one thing that I will say is this team has a lot of talent. It's been exciting to work with."
In 2019, the Bears will feature a team composed of both experienced returners and talented newcomers. A total of 18 returners and 10 newcomers make up the 2019 roster, including four seniors, six juniors, nine sophomores, and nine freshmen. Brown brings back six student-athletes who have earned All-Ivy honors in previous seasons.
"One of the things that we will have going for us this season, that I have not necessarily been able to say in the past, is that we have a tremendous amount of experience, depth, and talent," McNeill said. "Having those three things working in our favor will allow us to be much more competitive on the field."
Brown's returning nucleus includes senior captain Celia Story (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) – a two-time All-Ivy selection who comes back for a fifth season after missing most of 2018 due to injury. A part of a renaissance for the program, she has helped the Bears post a record of .500 or better in each of the last four seasons.
"I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to come back for a fifth year," Story said. "We have a great group of returners and our freshmen have added to the intensity right away. Our practices have been very competitive which is exactly what we want at the start of a new season."
Alongside Story, Brown features two more captains in senior Abby Carchio (Lakeville, Mass.) and junior Sydney Cummings (Millstone Township, N.J.). Carchio and Cummings have both earned All-Ivy honors in each of the last two seasons.
"I have two excellent co-captains, and I can't speak enough about them," Story said. "We really are on the same page and have the same goals. Leadership sometimes is the extra bonus that teams need to be the best, and I think we have that this year."
A year ago, the Bears' rookie class played a prominent role. Now as sophomores that group – which includes Maesyn G'Bye (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) – carries a better understanding of the collegiate game and what it takes to succeed in the Ivy League.
"It's a comfort coming in as a sophomore, knowing what's happening in the preseason," G'Bye said. "I think it's very important that I took what happened last year and can make changes for this year. With prior knowledge, we know how we can make this team better."
The Bears hope to use their trip to France this past summer – which included watching Team USA win gold at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup – to help catalyze the start of their own 2019 season.
"It was such an incredible opportunity to go to France," Story said. "The exposure to high-level soccer – you can't really put into words how much that means to a team."
McNeill echoes a similar sentiment.
"An experience like that – watching the game at the highest level and watching the U.S. bring home gold – there is nothing like that," McNeill said. "That was a once in a lifetime opportunity that we were able to experience together. That brought the team together even more and reinvigorated their energy for preseason."
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