Connecticut Press Release -www.connecticutfootballclub.com
Sky Blue Press Release –www.skybluesoccer.com
Thursday, May 15 CONNECTICUT – The CFC Passion, will play its first-ever home game when it plays host to the Jersey Sky Blue on Saturday, May 17th at 7:00 PM EST at Yale University’s Reese Stadium. They come off an opening game 2-2 draw with The New York Magic.
The Passion, one of nine expansion teams in the 41 club nationwide league, will have their hands full with Sky Blue who continued their excellent defensive play of 2007 with a 1-0 opening game win on the road against the Boston Renegades. The Sky Blue allowed just six goals in 14 regular season games last season
The CFC club gained a tie in its first-ever game when forward Furtuna Velaj scored her second goal of the game on a penalty shot in the 80th minute. Velaj, a senior at Westhill High School (Stamford, CT) put the Passion in front in the 6th minute firing a shot into the left corner past Magic goalkeeper Suzanne Baldissard. Velaj will play at Quinnipiac University this coming fall.
Kelly Boudreau (Farmington, CT, Fairfield University) played the first half in goal for CFC stopping five shots and Nikki Weiss (Redding, CT, Notre Dame) made three saves in the net in the second half for the Passion. Weiss is a product of the CFC youth program.
Connecticut Passion head coach Dave Clarke, the head women’s coach at Quinnipiac, says his team will have to be far sharper than the opening contest to stay with the Sky Blue. “Jersey has some very experienced players and we won’t be able to make the same mistakes we made in game one and expect to win,” said Clarke. “The team has been practicing very hard this week so I am feeling good about Saturday’s match.”
Sky Blue picked up where it left off in 2007 as Yolanda Odenyo (Oklahoma State) provided Jersey with the only goal it needed in the closing minutes of the first half.
Jillian Loyden (Villanova) recorded the shutout in the Sky Blue goal with four saves as Jersey held a 13-9 advantage in shots.
In addition to a number of new players to the Sky Blue squad, the victory marked the debut of new Head Coach Denise Reddy. A successful coach on the youth level, last year’s Sky Blue assistant coach notched her first career head coaching victory on the senior level.
Brandão Returns to Sky Blue to Bolster Defense BEDMINSTER, NJ – A familiar face will be joining Jersey Sky Blue for the rest of the 2008 W-League season. Sky Blue Soccer officially announced today that Kim Brandão will once again be wearing a Sky Blue uniform. The former Rutgers University star and current member of the Portugal Women’s National Team was a mainstay for Jersey Sky Blue’s W-League leading defense in 2007.
With Brandão back in the fold, Jersey Sky Blue now returns nearly its entire defensive unit from last year. Along with goalkeeper Jillian Loyden and defenders Fanta Cooper and Bonnie Young, Brandão helped the Sky Blue defense lead the W-League with just six goals allowed in 14 regular season games. Sky Blue kept up its strong defensive ways with a 1-0 victory over the Boston Renegades in the 2008 season opener on Saturday.
Brandão, who played in Sweden and Spain between W-League seasons, will join Jersey Sky Blue when the team heads to New Haven, CT to face expansion side Connecticut Passion on Saturday night at Yale University. Sky Blue will open its 2008 home slate on Saturday, May 31 when it hosts the Boston Renegades at 7:30 pm at Drew University in Madison, NJ.
"Kim used the past year to play in Sweden, Spain, and also with the Portuguese National Team which helped prepare her for the W-League season," said Jersey Sky Blue Head Coach Denise Reddy. "She’s a tenacious 1-v-1 defender and her speed and strength allow her to be aggressive in a tackle. Kim had a great season with Sky Blue last year and we’re glad to have her back."
Brandão started all 14 games in the 2007 regular season for Sky Blue leading the team to a 12-2 mark. The Rahway, NJ native also led the team in minutes played with 1174 as Sky Blue posted 10 shutouts. She went the distance in both playoff games as Sky Blue advanced to the semifinals of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Following the 2007 W-League season, Brandão took her game global with stops at Falköping in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan last fall and FC Puebla of Spain’s top women’s league this past spring. Earlier this year, she also played with Portugal leading the team to a 2-2 mark and a 10th place finish at the Algarve Cup. She just returned from Portugal this past week where she played in losses to Denmark and Scotland in UEFA Women’s EURO 2009 qualifying.
Brandão joined Sky Blue after a stellar career at Rutgers, which posted a school record for wins with a 16-3-4 mark in her last season with the Scarlet Knights. Her final season also produced the program’s first-ever trip to the BIG EAST Tournament final and she earned numerous postseason awards including Soccerbuzz All-America Third Team honors and selections to the NSCAA and SoccerBuzz All-Mid Atlantic Region First Team.
The central defender finished her Rutgers career with three goals in 84 appearances. She was named to the All-BIG EAST second team three different times and was also a BIG EAST Academic All-Star. As a freshman, she earned SoccerBuzz Mid-Atlantic Region All-Freshman Team honors and was named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.
Prior to joining Sky Blue, Brandão previously played in the W-League with the New Jersey Wildcats during the 2004 season. She started the final four games of the regular season as the Wildcats capped a perfect 14-0 season and then started all four playoff games as they eventually fell to the Vancouver Whitecaps in a shootout in the W-League Championship match.
