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Harrington Ready To Lead Lady Jayhawks

Tom Harrington, left, was introduced as the new Jamestown Community College women’s soccer coach in late January. P-J file photo

Since his hiring in January, Tom Harrington has been hard at work reviving Jamestown Community College’s women’s soccer program.

He’ll see the fruits of his labor in action starting today.

The Lady Jayhawks will kick off the 2019 season at 1 p.m. on the pitch outside the Physical Education Complex against Region 3 Division III foe North Country CC.

On Sunday, Jamestown CC will return to action at home against Clinton CC, another regional oppoent, with kickoff again at 1 p.m.

The 12-member team will feature three sophomores, just one of whom carries any collegiate soccer experience with her into this weekend’s openers.

Members of the Jamestown Community College women’s soccer team, in front, from left, are: Kayleigh Coolidge, Sam Kianos, Corinne Wilcox, Sutton Dalrymple, Gigi Mead and Hannah Sholl. In back are: head coach Tom Harrington, Kaylee Crisanti, Emily Phelps, Aihziah-Marcee Bunting, Heather Sampson, Anna Burt and assistant coach Emma Ward. Submitted photo

“There’s been some additions and some subtractions since we started,” Harrington said Thursday evening when looking back to his team’s start of practice Aug. 1. “We haven’t had the numbers that we would’ve liked, but when we started out we were at nine.”

Sutton Dalrymple (Del Rio (Texas) High School) spent her freshman year of eligibility coming off the bench for NCAA Division III University of Houston-Victoria. With the Jaguars, Dalrymple scored three goals on nine shots on goal, seeing action in 13 games.

“She’s a solid player. She can play anywhere,” Harrington said of Dalrymple. “I was working her on defense (Thursday). I can place her anywhere on the field and we’re solid.”

Zairyon Fiddmont (Jamestown) and Corinne Wilcox (Falconer) are also sophomores for the Jayhawks, but both spent their first year of college on campus in Jamestown without a soccer program.

“It’s very instrumental,” Harrington said of Dalrymple’s year of collegiate experience. “She’s come in and she’s helped put some drills together. It’s helped our touch and speed of play. She’s been a big influence on bettering this team. We’re a better team with her.”

Hannah Sholl is a freshman from Southwestern and will be the starting goalkeeper for the Jayhawks, despite not playing the position in high school with the Trojans.

“Hannah is a good defender, but I’m asking her to play keeper,” Harrington said. “She’s willing to do whatever it takes. She’s a very talented athlete. She has a great understanding of the game.”

Other freshmen on the roster include Emily Phelps (Chautauqua Lake), Sam Kianos (Falconer), Gigi Mead (Jamestown), Kayleigh Coolidge (Ellicottville), Anna Burt (Jamestown), Aihziah-Marcee Bunting (Franklin Area High School), Heather Sampson (Jamestown) and Kaylee Crisanti (Pine Valley).

“Sam is doing a really nice job. She’s playing a center-midfield role,” Harrington said of Kianos. “She’s going to be one of our leaders on the team.”

Angelina Mix, Brianna Roberts and Olivia South are also freshmen, but will likely not be eligible to play yet this weekend.

Harrington has also added Emma Ward and Dr. Paul Green as assistant coaches.

“I’ve known Paul for about 10 years. He was my goalkeepers coach when I coached in high school,” Harrington said, referencing his six-year run as Warren Area High School head coach. “He was not only a good goalie, but he went on to be a good goalie coach. He does a really nice job with the keepers.”

During his time at Warren, Harrington’s teams won five regional championships and two district titles while qualifying for the Pennsylvania state tournament three times. His overall record was 87-32-1, good for a .729 winning percentage.

“We have a good core of players,” Harrington said. “Our numbers are obviously not what I want them to be at, but it’s a good base from which to grow.”

Harrington hopes that base will be beneficial next year, when he can add a strong recruiting class to this year’s freshmen class.

“Recruiting has been a problem because most of the players had already made their decision what school they wanted to go to prior to January when I was hired,” he said. “Recruiting is going really well for 2020 and 2021. We have to get through this season and better times are coming.”

Harrington can sense positive vibes from juniors and seniors in high school that he has talked to about attending Jamestown CC.

“There is a lot of excitement out there. They want to be a part of it. That’s why it’s really important to get the program off the ground and start doing some base work and laying the ground work for the future,” he said. “I’m not going to go with a number of wins (for this year), but we want to be competitve and be a better team at the end of the year than at the beginning of the year.

“We have a lot of players who are hungry to be better players,” he added. “We want to be able to beat some good teams. That’s really the goal.”

2019 Schedule

Aug. 24 vs. North Country CC 1 p.m.

Aug. 25 vs. Clinton CC 1 p.m.

Sept. 1 at Columbia-Greene CC 1 p.m.

Sept. 7 at Mohawk Valley CC 2 p.m.

Sept. 11 vs. Mercyhurst North East 4 p.m.

Sept. 14 at Herkimer College 12:30 p.m.

Sept. 15 vs. Hudson Valley CC noon

Sept. 18 vs. Finger Lakes CC 2 p.m.

Sept. 21 at Corning CC noon

Sept. 22 vs. Lorain County CC 2 p.m.

Sept. 28 vs. Tompkins Cortland CC 3 p.m.

Sept. 29 at Cayuga CC 1 p.m.

Oct. 2 at Genesee CC 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 9 at Erie CC 2 p.m.

Oct. 12 at SUNY Broome CC 1 p.m.

Oct. 16 at Niagara County CC 4 p.m.

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