Stainton Adds DoVale as Assistant Coach
6/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -- After serving as an assistant coach during a historically successful women's soccer campaign for Rutgers-Newark in the fall, former Fairleigh Dickinson standout Sage DoVale has been added to the Seton Hall staff head coach Rick Stainton announced on Monday.
DoVale starred in goal for the Knights during Stainton's brief tenure as the head man in Teaneck, picking up a slew of accolades while helping to engineer a drastic turnaround that culminated in a landmark season for the program.
"Sage is a very talented, driven and committed to her craft," said Stainton. "In a short time, she has already built an impressive coaching résumé. I believe she is the right fit on a variety of levels but most importantly, when you look back at the last two years; she has been an integral part of the type of success we are working to make the standard here at The Hall."
In her first and only season as an assistant coach in Newark, DoVale helped lead the Scarlet Raiders to a program record 14 victories and their first-ever New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament appearance. The squad had been pegged to finish ninth in the 10-team conference in the preseason poll after winning five matches the year before.
The Raiders exceeded expectations in part because DoVale's expertise in net manifested itself on the field as the team posted seven shutouts in 2014. The ledger was highlighted by a pair of clean sheets in wins over Lehman and The Sage Colleges during a title-match run at the ECAC Metro/Upstate Championship -- the first two postseason victories in school history.
Prior to joining the coaching ranks full-time, DoVale delivered her finest collegiate season under Stainton's direction as a senior. After being a part of 11 victories over her first three seasons at FDU, DoVale re-wrote the school record books as the Knights powered their way to eight wins and a 4-1-3 conference record that earned the No. 2 seed in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament.
During the campaign, the native Hawaiian notched a single-season program record eight shutouts, matching the career record of 14 in the process. A four-time NEC Defensive Player of the Week throughout the season, DoVale was voted as NEC Goalkeeper of the Year and also took home First Team All-NEC honors.
As part of her new role, DoVale will work directly with a Seton Hall goalkeeping core that includes returning letterwinners Illissa Blackshear (West Orange, N.J.) and Gina Maiorana (Street, Md.) -- a duo that recorded six clean sheets last fall. Also competing for time will be Laura Dramis (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and incoming freshman Anna MacClean (Thunder Bay, Ontario) who will come to South Orange after playing in the Canadian REX program which identifies elite players across the country.
"We have a roster that boasts depth at the goalkeeper position," added Stainton. "With Sage coming aboard, we will only continue to grow stronger in that area. Her impact will not be limited to the goalkeepers however and I know she shares in our commitment to achieving great success."
