Cape Coral, June 1, 2017 - Florida Gulf Coast Dutch Lions FC is delighted to announce that former AFC Ajax, ADO Den Haag and Standard Luik (all professional teams in the Netherlands and Belgium) player Laura Du Ry and former ADO Den Haag midfielder Michelle Vrieling are joining the FGCDL FC Women's Team this summer. We had an interview with them and Head Coach Vincent de Weger
FGCDL FC: Who are you and where are you from?
Laura: My name is Laura Du Ry, I am 24 years old and I am from Amsterdam (the Netherlands).
Michelle: My name is Michelle Vrieling, I am 22 years old and I am from the Hague (the Netherlands).
FGCDL FC: What college did you attend?
Laura: I went to Hogeschool van Amsterdam, the main college in Amsterdam where I graduated in Sportsmarketing and Commercial Economics at the Johan Cruyff University. This is a university created only for students who are professional athletes.
Michelle: I studied Criminal Justice, and I got my bachelor’s degree from the University of Leiden. I am currently getting my master’s degree at the University of Amsterdam.
FGCDL FC: What are your former clubs?
Laura: I started my professional career at ADO Den Haag, then played for Standard Luik (Belgium), where I also played in the Champions League. After Luik, I played for PEC Zwolle, AFC Ajax and last but not least Olympique Lyon. This is the same club where Alex Morgan currently plays when the season in the USA is over.
Michelle: In my youth career I played for Loosduinen, Scheveningen, Monster and Westlandia. When I was 17, I was asked to come play for the ADO Den Haag Women’s team in the Premier League in the Netherlands.
FGCDL FC: What kind of honors did you receive in your career sofar?
Laura: I won the Championship in the second division twice, I was a CUP finalist four times and won it once. And I was also a part of the Dutch National team.
Michelle: In my second year at the ADO Den Haag Women’s team, I received the "Talent of the Year Award". This was a great honor for me and I am still very proud to be recognized with such an award.
FGCDL FC: What has been you best moment in soccer?
Laura: Playing in the Champions League, the European Championships with Dutch National U-19 team and being part of the Dutch National Team.
Michelle: I have several best moments in soccer. In my first year at ADO Den Haag, we played in the Champions League and for that, we went to Moscow to play against FC Rossiyanka, a high-placed Russian team. This year we also won the Dutch Cup. In 2016 we also won the Dutch Cup again. The last best moment for me was the fact that I played for the Dutch National Team U19. I was very proud to represent my country.
FGCDL FC: What are your expectations for the upcoming season?
Laura: I have a good feeling about this upcoming season, what I have seen so far looks good, and my teammates are fit and eager. So I have high hopes for us as a team. And for me personally, I hope to keep a lot of clean sheets!
Michelle: I am looking forward to the upcoming season. I think there are a lot of talented girls on this team and I am proud that I can be a part of the Florida Gulf Coast Dutch Lions FC. I hope we get better as a team every training and win a lot of matches!
Head Coach Vincent de Weger is happy to have Laura in the team: " She is a player with experience overseas, has natural leadership and is another type of goalkeeper then we already have. I am looking forward to deciding who is going to be the starting goalkeeper because we have talents (Jenna Payton), D2 college player (Casey Winn) and European goalkeeper (Laura DuRy). I think if we take look at our goalkeeper, we can say we are good on goalkeepers. All the best of luck to Laura and the other goalkeepers".
Head Vincent de Weger is also delighted with Michelle: "She is a player with different qualities. She is an allround midfielder with a "box-to-box" quality. Combined with her experience and leadership we certainly have another good player in our team. Besides that she is the first player from our partner ADO Den Haag Women's team, hopefully she is the first of many more".
