By Ashley Pavlakis
Cover credit – Alan Schaeffer
The Golden Eagles Girls Soccer Team of St. Joseph’s University is a member of the Skyline Conference in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Eagles have posted a winning record this season and still have two games left to play in the regular season.
The Golden Eagles are led by head coach Tom Williamson, who served as assistant coach for four years before earning the promotion. Williamson is familiar with Long Island having spent time coaching at Long Island University before joining the Eagles. Williamson is joined by assistant coaches Jaclyn O’Shaughnessy, Michelle Barclay, and volunteer Matthew Schindler.
Williamson’s extensive coaching experience has allowed him to shape his teams in a way that gives them the necessary tools to be successful on-and-off the field.
“My main focus has always been, and will continue to be, encouraging players to outwork the opposition, enjoy the ball, maintain possession, and try to control the tempo of the game in all situations,” Williamson told The Messenger.
Win/Loss records can be broken down into different categories. Statistics aren’t everything, but they’re certainly a good source of judgment for coaches who are planning how to take down their opponents. For the Golden Eagles, they play better at home. Their record at home is 6-1-1 while their record on the road is 3-3-0. The Eagles have capitalized on home-field advantage this season.
“This season has been marked by significant growth in many areas. Despite facing a more competitive conference than in previous years, with a strong finish we remain well-positioned to finish on a high note and meet the goals we set at the beginning of the year,” said Williamson.
The Eagles have outscored their opponents this season 32 to 10, fortunately for them, their offense is coming from everyone. The team has nine goal-scorers with double digit goals and a handful of players who are very close to reaching the same feat.
“For a team to achieve success, it’s essential to have multiple players capable of scoring from anywhere on the field. Building a roster where any player can step in and make an impact has been crucial to our growth over the past few years,” said Williamson.
Universally, kids grow up playing youth soccer. At some point in their athletic journey, the athlete will decide if they want to focus their time on making it to the next level in their respective sport. St. Joseph’s is one of three colleges on Long Island to offer girls’ soccer as a collegiate program. Female soccer players now have the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) to aim for after their collegiate careers are finished. At least seven female players with Long Island roots are representing the island when they take the field as professional soccer players.
“Every year, more and more Long Island girls are progressing to the highest levels of the game, thanks to the remarkable coaching at both youth and collegiate levels in the region. This is a trend that I see continuing for a long time,” Williamson remarked.
