The Clarion University women= s soccer team opens its 2004 campaign Friday, August 27 at Geneva.

The Golden Eagles will begin their 2004 season on a high note, after recording their first-ever PSAC win against Shippensburg in the 2003 season finale. Last Year, Clarion finished with a 4-14 overall record and a 1-11 mark in the PSAC. This season, fourth-year head coach Nina Alonzo is setting the goals higher than ever before.

A Our goal this season is to have a winning season,@ Alonzo said. A We don= t even want to finish .500. With all of our women returning with experience, this should aid for us to have success and reach our goal.@

Other than the goals being set by Alonzo, she also has high expectations for her returning and incoming players.

A In order for us to have a very strong and successful season, our team needs to come back in the best shape possible.@ Alonzo said. A We are going to concentrate mainly on playing style and fitness this year than anything else.@

This year will also mark the first group of four-year seniors to come through Clarion= s program.

A This group of seniors will be the leaders of our team,@ Alonzo stated. A They will help get us to the nest level of making the PSAC playoffs.@

This year= s seniors include goalie CJ Gattens, midfielders Nicole Bell and Danielle Allemang, forward Alisha Turner and defenseman Rachel Aul.

Experience may be a good word to describe the returning players to the Golden Eagle line-up. With the good group of senior leadership and a nice nucleus of younger players may help the Golden Eagles reach their goals.

Gattens will again get the nod at goalie for the fourth straight season. Last year she had a deceiving goals against average of 3.09 while recording 195 saves and yielding 54 goals. She ranked 5^th in D-II in saves per game at 10.78. For Gatten= s career, she has amassed over 710 saves.

A CJ has gotten stronger every year,@ Alonzo said. A If CJ can stay healthy, she will be a key factor for us to get a playoff spot.@

The Golden Eagles will be led by sophomore Ashlie Regazzi and juniors Ashley Francis and Jessie Zahner and forward and midfield positions, and Aul on defense.

Last season Regazzi led the Eagles with 5 goals and 10 points as a true freshman. A Ashlie was an impact player last Fall and we= re expecting her to come back even stronger in 2004,@ said Alonzo.

Francis was second on the team last season in goals and points with four and eight respectively, while Zahner netted a goal and recorded an assist last season.

Heather Kershner, Ashley Downs and Aimee Zellers are just three of Clarion= s 11 recruits who could step in and make a difference this season for Golden Eagles.

A Heather adds a lot of strength to our midfield. She adds an advantage to our bench and will be a great addition to our team,@ Alonzo said. A Ashley adds great outside midfield speed and great ball-handling skills.@

Zellers, who can play both the goalie and defense positions, is very versatile and could step in as the predecessor to Gattens in goal next year.

A Being able to play both positions makes her a stronger defender,@ Alonzo said. A Aimee can see the field very well and is very aggressive.@

Other key players for the Golden Eagles include Alisha Turner (3 goals, 1 assist, 7 points) and Michelle Glasgow at the forward position.

Additional players vying for time at the midfield spots are Francis, Nicole Bell, Melissa Alonzo and Jayme Violi, while Aul, Zellers, Jenna Elwell, Kaylie Tuznik and Valecia Yockey will see time in the defense.

A Aimee (Zellers) should have a huge impact to our defense this year.@ Alonzo said. A Kaylie (Tuznik) and Valecia (Yockey) both got stronger and improved their games tremendously.@

With their first PSAC win on their record, Alonzo said the player= s attitude has changed for the 2004 season.

A They have gone from thinking they can win to wanting and knowing they can win.@