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Sky Blue FC Head Coach Freya Coombe Announces 2021 Technical Staff

January 29, 2021 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Sky Blue FC News Release


Harrison, NJ - Sky Blue FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) today announced the members of Head Coach Freya Coombe's technical staff for the 2021 season. Coombe is entering her second full season as the head coach for Sky Blue after leading the team its first NWSL playoff victory in the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup and a fourth-place finish in the Fall Series.

"I am extremely pleased with the technical staff steam that we have created here at Sky Blue," said Coombe. "We have a dynamic group that brings together very different experiences which adds tremendous value to the training environment. I am happy to welcome Dan Ball to the Club and look forward to working with him and the other members of the technical staff this season. I feel very confident in the staff to create a competitive, high-performance environment that brings success to the team, Club, and the fans."

Returning to their roles for a second season are Assistant Coaches Rebecca ("Becca") Moros and Rebecca ("Becki") Tweed, while newcomer Daniel Ball will serve as Goalkeeper Coach.

Rounding out the technical support staff are High Performance Coach Philip Congleton, Head Athletic Trainer Sara Carpentieri, and Head Physical Therapist Joelle Muro.

"It's exciting to have a continuation of much of the technical and support staff from last season," said General Manager Alyse LaHue. "We have committed each year to adding more full-time roles on the technical and player services side, which will put our players in the best position for growth and success in 2021."

Rebecca ("Becca") Moros

Moros, originally from Manhattan, New York, joined the shortlist of NWSL players that have transitioned into a full-time coaching position when she joined Sky Blue in 2020. She has more than a decade of professional soccer experience after playing three years in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), two years in the Nadeshiko League in Japan, and six years in the NWSL. Moros played for multiple teams throughout her NWSL career before retiring as a player from Utah Royals FC.

Moros has been coaching since graduating from Duke University in 2007 where she was a four-year starter and captained the team her senior year. She holds her USSF C license, and her United Soccer Coaches National Youth Diploma and Level 1 Futsal Certificate. She is also the inventor and CEO of FOOTYBOARD®, a portable rebounder for soccer players.

Rebecca ("Becki") Tweed

Tweed joined the staff in 2020 before the Club departed for the Challenge Cup. She has experience both on and off the pitch professionally as well as in youth soccer. She has spent the past several years helping develop players throughout the New Jersey area before joining the Sky Blue staff. Tweed has coached multiple teams within the Girls' Academy at STA in Morristown, NJ. She also worked previously as an assistant coach for Monmouth University's women's soccer program, helping guide the team to a conference championship. Tweed is currently pursuing her USSF A license.

On the field, Tweed played professionally in England with Millwall and Bristol City. She then took her career to the United States, where she played several years with the Jersey Blues and Millburn Magic in the WPSL.

Daniel Ball

Ball joins Sky Blue as the Goalkeeper Coach after spending 2020 as an Assistant and Goalkeeper Coach for Iowa State University women's soccer. The Chatham, England native, has coached a combined eight seasons of men's and women's collegiate soccer. Before joining Iowa State, Ball helped lead Bowling Green earned back-to-back Mid-American Conference championships in 2018 and 2019.

Prior to joining Bowling Green, Ball was a graduate assistant goalkeeper coach for the men's and women's soccer teams at Concordia University. During his tenure at Concordia, Ball helped sophomore goalkeeper Lindsey Carley earn the conference Defensive Player of the Year award as well as first-team all-league and all-region honors. He also helped lead the women's team to a regular-season title and set program records for the fewest goals conceded and most clean sheets.

"Sky Blue is a Club on an incredible trajectory, and I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to be part of it," said Ball. "Working alongside such a strong group of goalkeepers every day is exciting, and for this, I am thankful to Freya and Alyse. Freya has assembled a young, dynamic staff, with a wealth of diverse experiences. I look forward to what 2021 holds for our team and Club!"

Philip Congleton

Congleton joined Sky Blue in 2020 from James Madison University. At JMU, Congleton served as the High Performance Coach for the women's soccer team while earning his Master of Science in Exercise Physiology. Congleton's duties included interpreting health analytics and video analysis to monitor players' physical performance during games and training sessions. Congleton used this data to implement training, return-to-play, and injury prevention and recovery protocols designed to enhance player performance.

Congleton is recognized by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a certified strength and conditioning specialist.

Joelle Muro (PT, DPT, SCS)

Muro joined Sky Blue in 2020. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and her Physical Therapy Doctorate from St. Louis University in Missouri. Muro previously worked for Texas Health Sports Medicine upon completion of a Sports Residency as a Sports Certified Physical Therapist, where she provided emergency medical care and field assistance for Major League Soccer's FC Dallas, Women's Premier Soccer League, and the NWSL. More recently, Muro served as the physical therapist for the Afghanistan Women's National Soccer Team and as the camp team physical therapist for the U.S. Women's National Team.

Sara Carpentieri (MS, LAT, ATC)

Carpentieri returns for 2021 after serving in various Athletic Training roles for the Club since 2019. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from Springfield College and her Master of Science in Exercise Science from Kean University here in New Jersey. During her time at Springfield, Carpentieri worked in NCAA Division 1 with the soccer team of The College of Holy Cross. While at Kean, she assisted with the rehabilitation of student-athletes across all sports and focused mainly on men's and women's volleyball. Carpentieri is a licensed Athletic Training in New Jersey, board-certified, and a recognized member of the National Athletic Training Association.

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