Senior soccer players highlighted

By Marisa Strawn | gargoyle@flagler.edu 
Photo by Marisa Strawn

The Flagler women’s soccer team celebrated the athletic careers of six seniors last week. Loren Cate, Amanda Slevin, Cristina Coca, Lindsay Zullo and Marisa Strawn partook in the celebration of the four years they spent committed to the women’s soccer team.

Through the four years these girls spent day in and day out practicing, traveling, and playing their hearts out, and many strong statistics came out of their careers.

Loren Cate, who holds the second place ranking in Flagler women’s soccer history with most goals scored in one season, has found herself lighting up the stat sheet each year she has been a part of the team. She earned second-team all-Peach Belt Conference honors in 2011 and is a two-time academic-all-conference pick. She earned Academic All-District honors a year ago and is a two-time D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award recipient. Loren has played in 56 career matches and has scored 30 goals with eight assists for a total of 88 points. She was awarded the role of co-captain of the team for her senior season and said, “Being awarded co-captain was a one of my favorite awards out of my entire career because I could really lead by example. Being a goal-scorer, I would like to think my team looks up to me as a leader and I couldn’t be more proud of that!”

Amanda Slevin is a Central Florida native who found her love for the game bringing her to Flagler, where her decorated career has been a true inspiration, on and off the soccer field. She has played in 55 matches and has scored one goal. Amanda also assisted on three others goals, for a total of five points. The goal she scored proved to be the game winner against USC Aiken in October of 2010. As a sophomore, she was named to the P.B.C’s President’s Honor Roll as a Presidential Scholar. Amanda was a strong leader in the center midfield for the Saints and according to Teddy Meyer, head coach of the women’s team, “Amanda is one of the strongest players in the air, on our team. She has no fear when she jumps up for a header and that has really showed other girls that they can mimic that hard work.”

Cristina Coca, also a co-captain of the team, found herself leading each game from the back, as the starting goal keeper for the Saints. After transferring from St. Leo University after her freshmen year, Cristina truly found her place in the team. In her 3-year career with the Saints, she has recorded the second-most shutouts with 10 and the third-highest save total with 151. She has logged 3,446:57 minutes in goal, and has a 1.25 goals-against-average, as well as a 75.9 save-percentage. In her final season, she collected a career-high, 11 saves verses the University of Montevallo. She has also been selected as the Peach Belt Conference Goalkeeper of the Week two different times in her career.

Lindsay Zullo, from Hudson, Fla., was one of the most crucial players on the Saints team. She has been the focal point of every opposing coach that Flagler has played. She was a two-time All-Peach Belt Conference Preseason pick and is a two-time all-conference selection. She also earned All-Region honors in 2011 and earned The Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week honors in September of 2011. Lindsay has played in 59 matches with 57 starts and has scored 18 goals with four assists for a total of 40 points. She has scored eight game-winning goals, which is tied for the Division II era lead at Flagler. She has converted five penalty kicks which is tied for the most in the Division II. Last year, Lindsay was a member of the Peach Belt Conference Presidential Honor Roll as a Presidential Scholar.

Lastly, Marisa Strawn, also the co-captain of the Saints, has always been a strong contributor both on and off of the soccer field. Though she was injured for much of her career at Flagler, she still found herself giving whatever she could to her team. She has played in 29 career matches and has scored two goals. She has tallied four assists for eight points total. Her first collegiate goal was the first goal of the 2009 season. Last year she was named to the Peach Belt Conference President’s Honor Roll as a Presidential Scholar. “Having been injured for the majority of my four years here at Flagler, I got an entirely different perspective of our team. Being able to see each player from an off-the-field perspective, it has really enhanced the way I lead our team and I couldn’t be happier to have had the opportunity to help lead such a great group of girls for the past four years.”

These six seniors are the inaugural class of the NCAA Division II and the Peach Belt Conference for Flagler College women’s soccer. They have set the standard extremely high for upcoming soccer players who are currently on the team, and also for girls who wish to play at Flagler in the future.