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It’s finally here: The first match in the history of FC Buffalo’s women’s team, which just so happens to be the first FC Buffalo match since the men concluded their NISA Independent Cup tournament last summer in Detroit (Stream online at 2pm ET embedded at bottom of this post and on MyCujoo.com).
Fittingly, Coach Nikki Bartholomew’s FC Buffalo Women begin their run of games just down the road in Rochester against the Lady Lancers, the sister side of the men’s longtime NPSL rivals.
Coming off a few weeks of training and still waiting on the availability of some players returning from their college careers, FC Buffalo coach Bartholomew and assistants Gabrielle Wilson and Leah Ponticello are still choosing from a terrific group of available players for the opener.
SEE: FC Buffalo’s inaugural women’s roster
Led by Carissima Cutrona, the lone active player on the women’s advisory board, FCBFLO will tangle with an experienced Rochester side. Cutrona was twice named to the UWS East Conference Best XI and is joined by Dani Braun-Martinez, who was honored once by UWS.
Fellow post-collegiate players include former captains for St. Bonaventure (Dani Vis) and Daemen (Jamie Boyar), Niagara winger Kelsey Araujo and wingback Selena Mangoni, as well as William Smith College star Bizzy Moore, UB defender Gurjeena Jandu, Potsdam alum Nina Komosinski, Brockport product Sarah Lawson, and four-time All-SUNYAC honoree Victoria Colotti of Buffalo State.
FCB’s entire roster and coaching staff hail almost exclusively from WNY and Southern Ontario, with the Buffalo players graduates of:
Nardin Academy (3)
Williamsville South (4)
Iroquois
Wilson
Niagara Wheatfield
Tonawanda
West Seneca East
Grand Island
Williamsville North
Williamsville East
Sacred Heart Academy
The club has signed two high school players still with the WNY Flash of the ECNL in Brigid Molloy of Nardin, who will play at Villanova, and Erin Weir of Niagara Wheatfield, who is committed to Canisius College.
The Lady Lancers had a rough expansion season in 2017 but have since become a competitive side with eight wins, eight losses, and two draws between 2018 and 2019 before United Women’s Soccer saw its 2020 season canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Lady Lancers are led by coach Marc Dall and feature players from several top college programs including those with Western New York ties. Canisius defenders Sophia Chelini and Madeline Tulloch, St. Bonaventure goalkeeper Makenzie Nolan and defenders Kendrick Tarmino and Megan Hanna, and Niagara University quartet Taylor ReQua, Elisabeth Stowell, Zoe Janes, and Regan Nugent could suit up in yellow and blue.
Kickoff is at 2pm ET at the Aquinas Institute in Rochester but the ticket allocation is sold out so the only way to watch is online at MyCujoo.com (and embedded in this post below).
Ticketing and the FC Buffalo Women’s (and Men’s) schedule(s)
Remember: For a limited time, women’s season tickets include admission to men’s game and vice versa.
