by Olivia Young<\/p>\n
Manhattan University athletes are gearing up for the season, and its women\u2019s soccer and volleyball teams \u2014 two of the school\u2019s most popular fall sports \u2014 are eager to make their marks. <\/p>\n
The Jaspers soccer team had its first game Aug. 12 against Monmouth University in New Jersey, and the volleyball team\u2019s first match will be Aug. 28 against Temple University in Pennsylvania. <\/p>\n
Athletes told The Press they are more than ready to compete this season. Here are some of the players to watch as the season unfolds. <\/p>\n
Molly Brunk, soccer: goalkeeper, #1 <\/p>\n
Goalkeeper Molly Brunk is a senior from Fairfax, Virginia, who started playing soccer when she was 4 years old. Last season, she set a program record for career shutouts with 19 games, and this season she is four games away from tying the program record for most career wins. <\/p>\n
Brunk, an exercise science major, told The Press the accolades don\u2019t matter to her. Her focus is putting the team first, and said breaking records comes from the combined efforts of her teammates. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here to play the game,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Brunk said senior year is sentimental for her. The team has become like family, a bond that Brunk helped foster. Still, her priority remains taking in every moment, every game. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have very high potential,\u201d Brunk said. \u201cWe have started already a step ahead than we have in all our previous seasons. I\u2019m just excited to play my last season with my best friends.\u201d <\/p>\n
Olivia McMaster, soccer: midfielder, #23<\/p>\n
Midfielder Olivia McMaster led the team last season with six goals, five of which came in the final five matches. McMaster, a senior and a biology major, is from Williamstown, New Jersey. <\/p>\n
She\u2019s been playing soccer since she was around 4 years old, McMaster said. Even as a kid, McMaster was upset if she didn\u2019t score, an early signifier of her drive to hone her craft. <\/p>\n
McMaster said the team has high expectations for themselves \u2014 including making playoffs, and winning the Metro Conference championship, which earns a team an automatic bid for the NCAA women\u2019s soccer tournament. Meeting these expectations only motivates the team, McMaster said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a force to drive us forward because we have these big goals in mind and we know we can accomplish them,\u201d McMaster said.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
Lauren Ahearn, soccer: forward, #27 <\/p>\n
Forward Lauren Ahearn, a marketing major from Houston, Texas, started in church soccer leagues when she was around 5 years old. <\/p>\n
Ahearn said her passion for the sport has only grown since playing in college, something she credits to her coaches, the people around her building her up and herself. Motivation and inspiration come from within, Ahearn said.<\/p>\n
Going into her senior year, Ahearn said she is eager to encourage the younger girls on the team, as she remembers what it was like to be an incoming freshman. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really looking to build girls up and keep them motivated,\u201d Ahearn said. \u201cJust making sure everyone feels comfortable and creating \u2026 a team-first mentality.\u201d <\/p>\n
Abby Morreale, volleyball: middle blocker, #11<\/p>\n
Middle blocker Abby Morreale, a senior from Lake Grove, New York, led the team last season with 112 blocks. The finance and marketing major has a volleyball-centric family, as her mom and three brothers all played, she said. <\/p>\n
Morreale is fond of volleyball because it is a team sport, she said. The players feed into each other\u2019s energy on the court, and celebrate after every point, improving morale in a way that differs from other sports. <\/p>\n
When Morreale was recruited, it was a rebuilding year, she said. Players\u2019 skillsets have only improved, and last season had a lot of close-call games, where Morreale feels they could have won. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year, the potential has just gotten higher and higher,\u201d Morreale said. \u201cI know our roster has so much talent, and I\u2019m just so excited to see us finish games this year. I know that we can.\u201d <\/p>\n
Morreale\u2019s belief in the team\u2019s success is strengthened by the women\u2019s chemistry. Players have fun with one another on and off the court, Morreale said.<\/p>\n
Emma Francesconi, volleyball: outside hitter\/right side, #8 <\/p>\n
Outside and right-side hitter Emma Francesconi is a sophomore from Viareggio, Tuscany, Italy. As a freshman last season, she started in all 28 matches, and set a career high with 16 kills in one game. A kill is an offensive attack that directly results in a point. <\/p>\n
She\u2019s played volleyball since she was 9 years old, but once she graduated high school, options to be both a college student and an athlete were slim in Italy. But, Francesconi\u2019s mom found an agency that was recruiting college athletes from around the world for American teams, so she packed her bags for New York City. <\/p>\n
For this upcoming season, Francesconi said she is excited for the team to realize their potential. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really fast,\u201d Francesconi said. \u201cWe\u2019re always on the ball. I see great energy from all of us.\u201d <\/p>\n
Francesconi said she wants the Jaspers to be a team that other teams have a high regard for, and say \u201cOh, we play against Manhattan. We have to be ready.\u201d <\/p>\n
\n\t\tKeywords<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tManhattan University,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Jaspers,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t women\u2019s soccer,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t women\u2019s volleyball,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t college sports,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx sports,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Riverdale sports,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Molly Brunk,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Olivia McMaster,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Lauren Ahearn,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Abby Morreale,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Emma Francesconi,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t NCAA,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Metro Conference\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Olivia Young Manhattan University athletes are gearing up for the season, and its women\u2019s soccer and volleyball…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[121324,104950,11496,121325,14998,121323,75,84,83,19361,121326,121321,12612,9,24,63,121322,121320,15000,121319],"class_list":["post-321915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-abby-morreale","tag-bronx-sports","tag-college-sports","tag-emma-francesconi","tag-jaspers","tag-lauren-ahearn","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-manhattan-university","tag-metro-conference","tag-molly-brunk","tag-ncaa","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-olivia-mcmaster","tag-riverdale-sports","tag-womens-soccer","tag-womens-volleyball"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}