SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose State women's soccer is officially back! The reigning Mountain West Champions returned to the pitch on Tuesday for the start of fall camp as they began preparation for the 2019 campaign.
Led by sixth-year head coach Lauren Hanson, the Spartans are looking to defend their Mountain West Tournament title and return once again to the NCAA Tournament. They took the first step of their return on Tuesday.
"It was really impressive, actually," Hanson said of the team's return to practice. "The team came back fit, which is exciting and means we can work with the ball a lot. The returners came back ready to go and lead and I thought our freshmen and newcomers came in ready to play."
The 2019 Spartans hit the field with a high energy level to start practice as a combination of fresh and familiar faces welcomed their first day back on the pitch where just eight months ago they claimed the 2018 Mountain West Tournament Championship. SJSU brings back the majority of their starters from last season, including stalwart defenders Kristen Amarikwa, Natasha Harris and Jada Wilson. Leading scorer Jamilecxth Becerra and 2017 MW All-Newcomer Team member Jenny Orozco also return to lead the offense.
Sprinkled in with the veterans is an impressive crop of talented newcomers including eight freshmen and two sophomore transfers in goalkeeper Ari Romero and forward Sylvia Sloss. Hanson put the newcomers to work right away on Tuesday as she had the upperclassmen face off with the underclassmen in a friendly scrimmage.
The scrimmage bode well for both parties as good defense and opportunistic offense led to an entertaining 50 minutes of play. Freshman midfielder Sabrina Weinman was one of several standouts on the underclassman squad and had one of the best goals of the match as she buried a contested shot from the top of the box in the opening half.
"It was fun to see how competitive it was," Hanson said. "People were really pushing each other. Sabrina had a wonderful goal. Obviously, she's a pure goal scorer. Izzy (Shallou-Enes) came in and she created a lot of runs off of Sabrina, and the two of them play really well together, so that was fun to see. For our returners, it's nice to see our back line back together again."
The Spartans will face their first true challenge on August 15, as they welcome Saint Mary's to the Spartan Soccer Complex for an exhibition match. One week later, on August 22, they open play for real as they open the season with a home match with Cal Poly.
Individual game tickets to men's and women's soccer are on sale now via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone at 800-745-3000 or online at Ticketmaster.com. Group ticket inquiries should be made to 408-924-SJTX (7589).
