(Photo by Victor Tan / New Day Review)
ORLANDO, Fla. – Senior Morgan Ferrara enters this season having to fill a pair of pretty big boots. Last season, then-senior forward Carol Rodrigues led the team in scoring with 12 goals and tallied two assists as well. In the early-season going, Ferrara has proven herself ready to lead the Knights’ offense. So far in 2017, including two preseason friendlies, Ferrara has recorded two goals and two assists.
But leading the team offensively isn’t something Ferrara is necessarily focused on. Instead, her approach to the season simply revolves around whatever helps the team.
“I try not to think too much about [leading the team in goals],” Ferrara said after a 2-0 win over Stetson University on Aug. 20. “Obviously, I love scoring goals. I love doing whatever I can to help my team. I have my own personal goals of scoring and whatever I can do best, which I like to think my best thing is scoring goals as a forward, is how I want to help the team.”
In 2016, Ferrara’s seven goals were good enough for second on the team. But while seven goals might have been all she could muster last season, the third-year Knight is looking to drastically surpass that mark in 2017. That drive for an increase in goals starts with a desire to impress for her future, but it always comes back to a team-first mentality.
“Well my personal goal is to score 20 goals this season,” Ferrara said. “It’s a high number, but I know I’m trying to play professionally after this, so if I can really take a stand and score 20 goals, I know the professional coaches will see more of me. But if, obviously, the opportunity presents itself for me to pass the ball rather than score, then it’s all about the team.”
Orlando is no stranger to goal-scorers. In the City Beautiful’s National Women’s Soccer League side, the Orlando Pride, Orlando showcases two of the top five goal-scorers in the league in superstars Marta Vieira da Silva and Alex Morgan. Marta, a five-time FIFA World Player of the Year, has so far scored 11 goals, and Morgan, a perennial fixture in the United States women’s national team, has scored seven.
While the forward position is an area Pride head coach Tom Sermanni believes is strongest for his side, he’s also not ruling out the possibility of adding another.
“[Forward] could be [a position we’re looking at in the offseason,] because, you know, the way the system works here, you’re never quite sure what you’re going to be looking for next year,” Sermanni told the New Day Review after training on Aug. 23. “So, it’s possible. If you’re saying right now is what we’re looking for, I’d say no because it’s there in the team that we’re probably strongest.
“…But come, you know, four months’ time when you’re looking at putting the team together for next year, you don’t know, you know, who’s going to go and all that. So you’re always looking for players.
“The other thing to consider in the draft is that, you know, we basically don’t have a draft pick until Round 3 next year. So we’re not expecting there to be—you know, if somebody goes out and makes a real impact, they’re going to probably go before that.”
The Knights continue their season when they host the No. 6 UNC Tar Heels on Friday at 7 p.m.
For more on the Knights, as they take on the No. 6 UNC Tar Heels on Friday, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
