Fredericksburg Impact News Release - www.fasaimpact.com
Friday, April 26, 2013
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - The Fredericksburg Impact announced that former East Carolina University Pirates Caty Butler and Kimmy Cummings have signed with the team for the 2013 W-League season.
Cummings, a native of Mechanicsville, Virginia and an inaugural member of the Impact in 2011, will return for her second season in 2013. In 2011, Cummings played in six games for the Impact, leading the team with 16 shot attempts. At East Carolina from 2008-11 she played 59 games while starting every game in her junior and senior seasons. Cummings graduated from the Pirates' program with 15 goals and 11 assists, accumulating 41 points in her four seasons.
New Impact Head Coach Rich Stoneman knows Cummings and Butler from his days as an ECU assistant coach.
"She’s a workhorse," Stoneman said fo Cummings. "She knows how to play game because she’s very skillful and doesn’t know the word stop. She has a good shot and can score a lot of goals for us.
"Caty is not only in small in stature but her play is improbable. She is fast and relentless and scores goals. I look forward to coaching her again as I recruited her at East Carolina."
The players know each other well from their three years spent together on and off the field at East Carolina. Butler said doing things the right way is what made Cummings the player she is today.
"Kimmy was a great teammate," Butler said. "She was the person I could always go to about helping me do extra work or extra fitness. She was the type of player that would never cut corners and would try her hardest in every practice, which I appreciated. She enjoyed being at practice and never complained about anything.
"In a game, I could count on her to help me stay focused on playing my best and not getting upset with factors I couldn't control. I also knew that she could be counted on in clutch situations. I am excited to play with her this summer because I know she is going to push me harder than I can push myself!”
Cummings had similar praise for Butler, and it's obvious a mutual respect developed during their time together.
"Caty is just a scrappy player, a firecracker if you will, there is no better way to put it," Cummings said. "I had the privilege of playing with her for three years at ECU and as upperclassmen it was awesome to watch her transform during that time. Caty expects players to perform at their best and that pushes people to be even better. We spent every game my final season working side by side on the field; I'm excited to get back out there with her."
Butler, a native of Boerne, Texas was at ECU from 2009-12 playing in every game in her Pirate career while starting each game during her senior season. She amassed 16 goals and eight assists in her four seasons.
"My goals for this upcoming season would be to win our [division] and make a good run in the playoffs, make some new friends and contacts for the future, and to get ready for playing at the next level,” Butler said.
The Impact start their season on May 11 against Virginia Beach Piranhas at the Virginia Sportsplex with game time scheduled for 7 p.m.