Mattias' hat trick boosts Fury in opener
Merritt Mattias had a hat trick as the Fury defeated the New England Mutiny, 5-1, in Women's Premier Soccer League Elite play Saturday night in East Longmeadow, Mass.
The WPSL Elite is a new women's pro-am soccer league created to fill the void after Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) suspended operations for the 2012 season.
The Fury is one of eight teams in the WPSL Elite, which includes former WPS squads the Boston Breakers and Western New York Flash. Each squad will play 14 games in the inaugural season.
Though some of the other teams in the league are completely professional, the Fury is a fully amateur roster assembled by former Philadelphia Independence (WPS) coach Paul Riley.
Riley will coach many of his former players from Philadelphia and his elite Albertson club squad on the Fury, including three sisters from Long Island's "first family" of women's soccer, Tina, Gina and Rosie DiMartino of Massapequa. Others on the team include former Maryland and Bay Shore star Jasmyne Spencer; Newsday's 2011 Long Island Player of the Year, Notre Dame-bound midfielder Cari Roccaro (East Islip), and 2011 Nassau POY, Hofstra-bound forward Jill Mulholland (MacArthur).
"The goal was to bring every top player in our club and in the area to the New York Fury," Riley said. "A lot of these players have played together in various forms. We play a very technical, passing movement type style. I think they'll fit together pretty easily.
"They're hungry to play and this has been the longest preseason in history for the [former] WPS players."
Tobin Heath, a member of the U.S. national team, has committed to playing for the Fury and her availability will depend on her schedule for the Olympics, according to Fury director of operations/general manager Thomas DeBonis.
DeBonis said the Fury will forgo the use of college and high school athletes per NCAA rules should the WPSL Elite become a fully professional league next season.
Boston College-bound forward Rosie DiMartino and Vanderbilt-bound midfielder Krystina Iordanou (Friends Academy), both juniors, and Mulholland will join the Fury once their club season with Albertson is complete in mid-June, according to Riley.
The Fury will take on the Flash in Rochester next Saturday night and open at home against the Breakers at Hofstra on Wednesday, May 23 at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for youth and can be purchased at the Hofstra ticket booth and the team's website www.nyfurysoccer.com. Season tickets are $60 for adults and $25 for youths and the team will also offer a three-game flex pack for any three games priced at $30 for adults and $15 for youths.
