Ottawa Fury News Release - www.ottawafury.com
Thursday, April 12, 2012
OTTAWA, Ont. - If the old adage ’defense wins championships’ holds any weight, Dom Oliveri and his Fury W-League team could be in a great position to capture their first-ever league title with the goalkeepers they’ll have in the net in 2012.
W-League veteran Jasmine Phillips will be returning along with teammate and Fury Youth Academy graduate Audrey Bernier Larose. This pair led the Fury to a perfect regular season in 2011 and will be joined by another veteran of the W-League, former Laval Comets keeper and Canadian International Cynthia Leblanc. This trio has over 70 games of W-League experience with a combined record of 44-17-11 including 27 shutouts.
"We are extremely pleased to have Jasmine and Audrey returning for another season, while Cynthia comes to us highly recommended," said Fury W-League head coach Dom Oliveri. "These three goalkeepers provide us with a lot of experience and depth at this position."
Returning to the Fury for her sixth W-League season, her fourth with Ottawa, Jasmine Phillips helped captain the side to a perfect regular season in 2011 sending them to the Championship Finals where they captured the club’s third silver medal. Phillips is one of the most experienced goalkeepers in the W-League.
The Ottawa native is the Fury’s all-time leader in wins (26) and second all-time in shutouts (13), only three back of leader Taryn Swiatek. Phillips owns a 26-2-5 record in four seasons with the Fury and a 32-8-5 career W-League record. The reigning All-Conference goalkeeper is also the proud owner of two NCAA records and countless school records at the University of Maine where she posted a 34-19-12 record with 35 shutouts. Like many of the other players returning to the Fury Women for 2012, Phillips returns with one goal in mind, to finish what her and her teammates started last season.
Audrey Bernier-Larose is one of the top female keepers to come out of the Fury Youth Academy and after earning a scholarship to St. Leo University in 2010, the Gatineau, Quebec native transferred to NCAA powerhouse Oregon State after her rookie season. The sophomore went 2-0-0 with one shutout on the year and was named Oregon State Women’s Soccer Newcomer of the Year. This coming fall Bernier-Larose will take over the starting role for the Beavers. Last season, Bernier-Larose collected a win and a shutout in her first-ever W-League start posting a 1-0-0 record and appearing in four games for the undefeated Fury. Bernier-Larose has also been part of the Canadian National Team U20 Program.
Cynthia Leblanc might be new to the roster this season, but she is not new to the Ottawa Fury having played against the Fury for the past four seasons during her time with W-League rivals the Laval Comets. Leblanc will enter her fifth W-League season owning a career record of 11-9-6 with nine shutouts during four seasons at Laval. She is also coming off an impressive rookie season at the University of Ottawa where she helped the Gee Gee’s to the National Bronze Medal, sporting a 12-3-1 record and 11 shutouts, earning her Gee Gee’s Women’s Soccer Rookie of the Year honors. To add further weight to her resume, Leblanc is also the Fury keeper with the most international experience having played for Canada’s National team at U15, U16, U17 and U20 including World Cup appearances at U17 and U20.
Ottawa will open the 2012 W-League regular season on May 26 in Rochester, New York and return to the nation’s capital for their home opener on June 2 against the Ravens. 2012 season tickets are on sale now at www.ottawafury.com and fans can save up to 50 percent off with early bird pricing until May 1.
The Ottawa Fury have been selected as hosts of the 2012 USL W-League Championship presented by UMBRO. Ottawa will welcome the three W-League conference champions July 27-29 to the Algonquin College Soccer Complex for the semifinals and final featuring some of the world’s top amateur, international and professional women’s soccer stars.