Ottawa Fury News Release - www.ottawafury.com
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
OTTAWA, ON - The Ottawa Fury W-League regular season kicks off in four short weeks and they will have four names from 2010 joining them for their run at a W-League Championship. Tina Romagnuolo will return for her third W-League season in Ottawa, while her Syracuse University teammate Casey Ramirez enters her second campaign in the nation’s capital. Fresh off an amazing season with the Laurier Golden Hawks, Canadian International player Alyssa Lagonia will don the Fury colours for her second W-League season as will Graceland University midfielder Shay Eskridge. All four players return to the Fury coming off very successful season’s at their respective schools which the club hopes to see continue in the W-League season.
"It is always tremendous to have players of this level return to our W-League team," expressed Fury W-League head coach Dom Oliveri. "Casey and Tina were major contributors to our squad last season and we are excited to have them back again for this year. We are also happy to have Alyssa back in our squad after her numerous stints over the last few years with Canada’s Senior National Team, while Shay is coming off another tremendous collegiate season."
Tina Romagnuolo has 25 W-League games under her belt over the past two seasons with the Fury where she has tallied 3 goals, none bigger than her game-winner against Quebec City last season in the 90th minute. She has proven to be a force for the Fury in the midfield - a determined player who always comes out with the ball and is always on the hunt to win-back possession in the all-important midfield. Romagnuolo has two NCAA seasons to her credit with the University of Syracuse where she has 13 goals and 1 assist for 27 points in 38 career games with the Orange. She has been named to the All-Big East Second Team in each of the past two seasons and has let the team in goals and points over that span as well. She was also named to the All Rookie team in 2009. Tina was a red-shirt in 2008 as she was part of the Canadian U20 Women’s World Cup squad that competed in Chile.
While Casey Ramirez appeared in 9 regular season games for the Fury in 2010, it was her strong and intelligent play in the post-season that really got everyone’s attention playing a key role in the Fury’s playoff run. The Yardley, PA native returns to Ottawa after a very strong junior year at the University of Syracuse proving to be one of their most valuable defenders. In three full seasons with the Orange, Ramirez has started all 57 games and has two goals and three assists during that time. After spending her freshman year as a midfielder, Ramirez moved to defence in 2009, a move that has proved worthwhile for both Ramirez and Syracuse.
The Laurier Golden Hawks have proven to be a strong team in the CIS for several seasons now, but this past fall Alyssa Lagonia played a key role in helping them all the way to the CIS National Championship Final where they fell in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Queen’s on the shoulder of a goal from Lagonia’s W-League teammate Riley Filion. In three seasons as a Golden Hawk, Lagonia’s side has racked up an impressive 27-8-7 record and are now ranked 5th in Canada. She has been named to the OUA First-Team All Stars in each of her three seasons at Laurier and was named a CIS All-Canadian and CIS Tournament All-Star in 2010. The Kitchener, ON native has also been part of the Canadian U20 and Senior Women’s team program for the past several years. She played in 10 games in 2010 for the Fury W-League and will be a key component to their roster this summer.
With only three W-League games to her credit with the Fury in 2010, Shay Eskridge will look to build on an impressive collegiate season after being named to the NAIA’s 1st Team All-Conference squad in 2010 helping Graceland to a 15-1-3 record. The native of Rowlett, TX has played a crucial role in the midfield for the Yellow Jackets scoring 17 goals and 34 assists for 68 points in 81 careers games.
The Ottawa Fury Women open the 2011 W-League campaign on the road May 28 and 29 against Rochester and Hamilton respectively before returning to Ottawa for their home opener on June 3 when they will face the Rochester Ravens for the second time in 6 days.