First Year Fridays: Women’s Soccer
Chicopee, MA - With COVID-19 stalling our fall season, the Elms College Athletic Department will be showcasing our first year Blazers every Friday starting with our Women's Soccer program. Follow along and get to know more about your fellow Blazers!
The Women's Soccer program brought in eight new players in 2020, here is a little something about each STUDENT-athlete.
Coach Milbier reflected on the difficulties of the past season: "2020 brought plenty of adversity to our program. Finding out the season was lost due to the pandemic was very difficult for all us to accept," he said. "But our amazing young women did what they always do, they faced the adversity head on and made the best of it! I'm beyond proud of the resilience and work ethic we showed continued to show while only being able to hold training sessions. I firmly believe that this will make us BETTER, FITTER, and CLOSER going forward."
Name: Emily Maffuccio
Position: Midfield
High School/Hometown: Pittsfield High School, Pittsfield, MA
High School Career Stats: N/A
Other sports (if they were a dual-sport athlete):
Favorite High School sports related memory: Practices before games we would run up our home field hill and create our game plan.
What brought you to Elms College?: I heard of Elms College through a high school teacher and was interested in her experience. Elms College has great programs, including the Women's soccer team, and I wanted to be a part of the environment.
What made Elms stick out to you more than other college interests?: Elms college has a small student-professor ratio which makes the school welcoming and comfortable. As well as the family-like Women's soccer program.
What are your pre-game rituals?: My pre-game rituals are lacing my right cleat before my left cleat and listening to my game-day playlist.
What's a quote you live by and why?: "The secret of getting ahead is getting started."-- Mark Twain. This motivates me as I am reminded that everyone starts at the same place, but it is where you end up that matters.
Who inspires you to be the driven STUDENT-athlete you are today?: My father inspires me to be the driven student-athlete that I am today. He taught me to always do my best and give it 100% in everything I do as it will pay off.
Name: Gianna Liquori
Position: Goalkeeper
High School/Hometown: East Longmeadow High School; East Longmeadow, MA
High School Career Stats: 4 year varsity for all 3 of my high school sports
Other sports (if they were a dual-sport athlete): Basketball & Lacrosse
Favorite High School sports related memory: Our team would do the Rays of Hope Walk every year to help support the fight against breast cancer. We would host bake sales to raise money to donate. It felt so good to support this great cause and it would bring our team closer together.
What brought you to Elms College?: The nursing program has such a great reputation and I wanted to be part of that. Also, the soccer team is so welcoming that I feel like they're my second family.
What made Elms stick out to you more than other college interests?: The small campus and class sizes and how close the community is.
What are your pre-game rituals: Definitely putting in headphones and listening to rap music. It really gets me in focus for the game.
What's a quote you live by and why?: "Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open." - John Barrymore because the best things in life come when you least expect them.
Who inspires you to be the driven STUDENT-athlete you are today?: The healthcare workers who are working during this pandemic. They inspire me to work hard in school now so that when I become a nurse one day, I can help those who are helping others.
Name: Hailey Magierowski
Position- Defense
High School/Hometown- Tantasqua Regional High School/ Brimfield, MA
High School Career Stats- 4 Year Varsity Athlete
Other sports (if they were a dual-sport athlete)
Favorite High School sports related memory- Making it to playoffs and the environment that comes with it.
What brought you to Elms College?- I really liked the small campus and the close knit community. I also felt very welcomed when coming to visit.
What made Elms stick out to you more than other college interests?- I felt very welcomed by everybody when I stepped foot on campus.
What are your pre-game rituals?- Listening to music to get me focused on the game.
What's a quote you live by and why?- "Everything happens for a reason". I live by this quote because I truly believe that everything good or bad does happen for a reason.
Who inspires you to be the driven STUDENT-athlete you are today?- My dad inspires me to be the driven student athlete that I am today. We are very similar and have very similar interests so he is somebody that I look up to.
Name: Caitlin Mosher
Position Defender
High School/Hometown Coyle Cassidy High School, Taunton MA
High School Career Stats Captain Senior Year
Other sports (if they were a dual-sport athlete) Basketball, Track
Favorite High School sports related memory Pasta Parties with the team!
What brought you to Elms College? I chose Elms because of the close knit community. I had the opportunity to pursue my dream career and play sports at the same time.
What made Elms stick out to you more than other college interests? Elms was the most prominent in my college search because of the family like atmosphere and welcoming faculty. The amount of resources on campus to help students succeed was a huge deciding factor.
What are your pre-game rituals? My pregame ritual is listening to music and dancing with my teammates!
What's a quote you live by and why? "No matter where life takes me, find me with a smile."-Mac Miller. I live by this quote because it helps me remember to face everyday with a positive attitude even when times are tough.
Who inspires you to be the driven STUDENT-athlete you are today? My family continues to support me in my academic and athletic career. As a part of the women's soccer team, the upperclassmen have been huge role models and continue to inspire me.
Name: Angela Picheo
Position: Goalkeeper
High School/Hometown: Wood-Ridge NJ...Wood-Ridge HS
High School Career Stats: Varsity starter for all three sports all 4 years of hs,All time saves leader (758 saves), 2 time mvp, 2 time captain (all three sports), 3 time 1st team all conference, 2019 Most Outstanding Female Athlete
Other sports (if they were a dual-sport athlete) basketball & track
Favorite High School sports related memory: Beating a rival team 2-1 in the pouring rain
What brought you to Elms College? The amazing nursing program and the great soccer program.
What made Elms stick out to you more than other college interests? Nursing and being an athlete was not a problem at Elms.
What are your pre-game rituals? I listen to country music before the game, pray before I leave for the field, and face the back of the net before kickoff.
What's a quote you live by and why? "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face"-Mike Tyson... I live by this because it reminds me that you need to be ready at all times for any situation and to try to go in as prepared as possible.
Who inspires you to be the driven STUDENT-athlete you are today? My dad inspires me to be the student athlete I am today. He is a nurse in a pandemic and it truly motivates me and excites me to do well and be the next generation of nurses. He also inspires me athletically because he has been involved in my athletics my whole life and reminded me that with hard work no one can stop you from shining.
Name: Gabby Delaney
Position- Foward/Mid
High School/Hometown- Chicopee High School/ Chicopee, Ma High School Career Stats- 4 year varsity athlete, captain my senior year. Other sports (if they were a dual-sport athlete)- Lacrosse Favorite
High School sports related memory- Winning against the rivalry team (Chicopee Comp), my senior year.
What brought you to Elms College?- I chose elms because of the great reputation the nursing program has and what it has to offer. Also I felt that the soccer team was a family and very welcoming right from the beginning.
What made Elms stick out to you more than other college interests?- The small campus and class sizes to make it more personal and home-like. Also, the close-knit community with both education and sports.
What are your pre-game rituals?- I have to put my headphones in and listen to music and only think about how I'm going to play in the game.
What's a quote you live by and why?- "There are no secrets to success, it is about preparation, hard work and learning from failure"- Anonymous
Who inspires you to be the driven STUDENT-athlete you are today?- Ever since I was a kid, my dad always motivated me to strive to do my best in not only school but in sports as well. He is one person that helped shape me into who I am today.
Name: Hannah DelGiudice
Position Goalie
High School/Hometown Messalonskee High School / Oakland, ME
High School Career Stats 4-year varsity starter
Other sports (if they were a dual-sport athlete) Basketball
Favorite High School sports related memory Going to regionals my junior year
What brought you to Elms College? The small size, family atmosphere, and the soccer program
What made Elms stick out to you more than other college interests? It was out of state but still felt like home
What are your pre-game rituals? Put in my ear buds listen to my pre-game playlist, and the last thing I listen to is a motivational video called "Why do we fail"
What's a quote you live by and why? "It's not about how hard you can hit it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward"
Who inspires you to be the driven STUDENT-athlete you are today? My oldest brother Matt, and my grandmother.
Name: Sydney Kennison
Position- outside back
High School/Hometown- Marianapolis/ Somers Ct High School Career Stats- Jr and senior captain Jr and senior all star Other sports (if they were a dual-sport athlete) Crew, Basketball,
Soccer Favorite High School sports related memory Winning the finals my freshman year when the all the fans stormed the field and picked up the players. Answers to the following questions (2 sentences or more please)
What brought you to Elms College? What brought me to Elms was it had my major and also allowed me to play the sport I love.
What made Elms stick out to you more than other college interests? What made elms stick out was the family atmosphere.
What are your pre-game rituals? My pregame ritual is listening to classic rock
What's a quote you live by and why? " It's not about winning it's about taking part" -Tom Kennison
Who inspires you to be the driven STUDENT-athlete you are today? The person who inspires me is my father. He always encourages me to do my best academically and athletically. He has never missed a single game and has been through everything with me
