Johnson & Wales Women's Soccer Team Performs On and Off the Field

By Colleen Marasco

GNAC Correspondent, Johnson & Wales University

The 2008 Johnson & Wales women’s soccer team is more than just another sports team. They represents the university on campus as well as in the Providence community.

The Wildcats finished with a 10-9-2 record and ended their season at the GNAC semi-finals in the fall; a sign that the program is back to its winning ways. Their season was fueled by a fresh class of recruits to supplement the strong leadership displayed by the returning upperclassmen. Two seniors finished their soccer careers as co-captains, having contributed much time and effort over their four years. JWU’s freshmen came on the scene hard this past season, earning accolades such as Rookie of the Week multiple times as well as the GNAC leading scorer.

Coach Jay Woodward was not only impressed by his team on the field, but also in the classroom. For the fall trimester, the team earned an average GPA of 3.2, including three players with a 4.0. Half of the team made the Dean’s list. The girls represent a variety of majors including Culinary, Baking and Pastry, Sport/Entertainment/Event Management, Fashion Marketing and more.

Women’s soccer didn’t end in the fall though, the team continued to work together by volunteering their time to be a part of Project S.H.E. (“Sports, Health, Education”). The Sophia Academy is a nonprofit, private middle school that serves as an educational alternative for girls who are most at risk of becoming part of the cycle of poverty. Johnson & Wales teamed up with Sophia Academy so that girls at the school could have access to better recreational facilities and classrooms every Friday of the week. For four consecutive Friday mornings, players from the women’s soccer team shared their sport’s basic skills with the middle school girls by organizing games and drills. The team thoroughly enjoyed being able to help make a difference by serving as role models to the younger girls. Head of School at Sophia, Gigi DiBello says she is “thrilled to join Johnson & Wales in this innovative program”.

The players and coaches of the Johnson & Wales University women’s soccer team take pride in what they do during their competitive season as well as after it. They all are excited and eager to improve even more for Fall 2009 as they look ahead to a challenging schedule, both in conference and out. A productive spring season recently got under way upon returning from JWU’s spring break.

GNAC correspondents are selected by their institution to write feature stories for the GNAC website.