What is a "Fortuna"?
Fortuna is the Roman goddess of good fortune and the personification of luck. Fortuna (like many other figures from mythology) has been used as a club name around the world, most notably on Fortuna Dusseldorf in Germany and Fortuna Hjorring in Denmark, which is one of the top Women's Clubs in Europe.
In founding the club, the coaches wanted something unique, soccer specific, and identifiable. The 'RI' was added to identify ourselves as a team from Rhode Island to help further identify ourselves at tournaments.
We hope that the quality of the players and teams that Fortuna RI produces, along with the unique name will create a positive reputation and make us easily identifiable at recruiting events.
What about "Start"?
Fortuna Start, our second team is named in honor of "Start FC", the name given to the reformed Dynamo Kiev team in occupied Ukraine during the Second World War. For more information on the fascinating story go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Dynamo_Kyiv or read the book Dynamo by Andy Dougan.
The name honors the bravery, perseverance and pride of the original Start players.
Meet the Coaches
Zac Shaw – A former NSCAA 1st Team All-American in college, Shaw continued his playing career professionally in Belgium and in the United States prior to beginning his coaching career. Shaw has coached at some of the top Division I programs in the country, including Penn State University, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Florida. Shaw was also selected to be one of the founding coaches in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the Professional Women's Soccer League that featured the top US National Team Players and foreign National Team stars. Shaw worked with both the Carolina Courage and the New York Power during his time in the league. He has been a long time member of the Region 1 Olympic Development Program and is a featured clinician each summer in Wyoming, as a guest of the Wyoming State High School Coaches Association. Shaw is currently the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at the University of Rhode Island, a team that has quickly gained a reputation as one of the top programs in the Northeast and for playing dynamic, attractive soccer. In 2005 Shaw was named Atlantic-10 Coach of the Year.
Lauren Molinaro - Nicknamed “Money”, Molinaro was a four-year starter at The University of Connecticut, where she earned Scholar Athlete All-American Honors and was an NCAA National Championship Runner-Up. A former US Youth National Team Captain, Molinaro lead the US National Team to a Gold Medal in the Pan American Games. After college Molinaro was drafted to WUSA’s Bay Area Cyber Rays and continues to play semi pro soccer. A member of the Region 1 ODP Staff and Rhode Island ODP Staff, Money is an Assistant Coach of the Rhode Island Rams.
Emily Shaw – A standout collegiate player at Penn State, Emily Oleksiuk Shaw was a three-time NSCAA First Team All-American and represented the United States as a National Team player at several age groups, including the Full US Women’s National Team. After college Emily played professionally in the WUSA for the Carolina Courage. As a coach she has been a member of Region 1 ODP Staff and has worked extensively as a personal clinician for youth players. Emily is currently an Assistant Coach at The University of Rhode Island.
