Women’s soccer team to hold open tryouts

The Seton Hall women’s soccer team is presenting University students with the opportunity to become a Division I athlete. The team will be holding open try-outs on March 7 and 9 in search of hidden talent that might be on the school’s campus. “My mindset is with nearly 7,000 students, there may be someone who has quality experience that can come out and really make an impact for us,” head coach Rick Stainton said. Coach Stainton also noted the success of the recently formed Seton Hall women’s club soccer team as a motivation for holding the tryouts. The belief is that those who competed on the club level may have the ability to contribute on the varsity level as well. However, the tryout is not limited to those who played for the club team.

It is no secret the team struggled during the 2015 campaign, finishing with a 2-14-2 record. The Pirates were also held without a goal in five consecutive games to close out the season. There will not be any specific positions sought out in the tryouts; rather the team is seeking the best players available. The goal is to have an improved attack and to put the ball in the net on a more consistent basis in 2016.

“We always say attacking and defending traits don’t change regardless of the position you’re in,” Stainton said. “So we’re looking for players that have good technical ability, great character, and could help us when we’re on the field” Participants can expect to participate is some of the same drills that the team goes through now, in addition to scrimmaging amongst each other. “We’ll do some technical work as we do in all our normal training sessions,” Stainton said. “Then we’ll advance it to some small sided possession activities, and we’ll go into small sided games and full sided games.”