Schroeder, Riches Featured in Telegram Towns

By Jay Gearan CORRESPONDENT

PAXTON —  The women's soccer team at Anna Maria College is back in action this fall with a veteran player as its captain and a new head coach. 

Joanne Riches has been named captain of the 2012 team by first-year head coach Michael Schroeder. 

A Wachusett Regional High School graduate, Riches is from Paxton and is majoring in education. She plans to be a kindergarten teacher. She is the daughter of Carol and Paul Riches of Paxton.

"Being captain is exciting, and it's an honor," said Riches, who praised the dedication of her teammates, especially the other seniors, Erica Neugarten, Tabitha Ruggeri and Amanda Drew.

"Joanne has shown great leadership ever since I first arrived on campus, and she has continued that right into the season," said Schroeder. "She provides a great example for the younger players in terms of skill, fitness and work rate. All of our players and coaching staff have the utmost respect for Joanne. Her dedication to the team and sport make her the ideal team captain."

In their home opener last weekend, the AmCats lost to visiting Southern Vermont, 5-0, led by a hat trick of goals from Southern Vermont star Kaitlyn Forant. 

Despite the loss, Anna Maria got strong performances from Riches, who plays defense, and freshmen Sarah Benvenuti, Kaitlyn O'Shea-Rabbett and Jennifer Scudder.

After the game, Schroeder said, "We have some tough games ahead, but we'll look at the film and get back to work correcting the mistakes we made. A lot of our mistakes are correctable, so hopefully we can fix those and do better the next time out." 

The AmCats compete in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. Now a four-year starter, Riches has played in more than 50 games and is looking to turn the previous winless seasons and the program around. "We're working hard," Riches said.

Although he is a first-year head coach, Schroeder has a wealth of soccer coaching experience. He was an assistant women's soccer coach at Becker College for three seasons, helping his team qualify for post-season play each year.

Prior to Becker, Schroeder, a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, was head coach of middle level boys' soccer at Moultonborough Academy and as a head coach with Warren Youth Soccer.

Schroeder is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He lives in Worcester with his wife and two children.