April 29, 2002
Former Maryland All-ACC soccer star Emily Janss has been a key for the WUSA's New York Power through three games this season. Janss scored in her second straight game in the Power's 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Charge last Saturday night. The goal came in the 17th minute in Janss' first start of the season
Janss also scored the Power's lone goal in the 82nd minute in a loss to the San Diego Spirit on April 20.
She is currently tied for 2001 WUSA MVP Tiffany Milbrett for the team lead in points with four, on two goals.
Janss is the subject of a feature story on the Power's website which you can read here.
Janss Makes the Most of Her Chances
By Dan Lauletta
UNIONDALE, NY (April 25, 2002) -- They call her "Slasher", and there is little doubt that when she takes the field, good things tend to happen. She is Emily Janss, the New York Power's diminutive striker/midfielder.
Janss is not blessed with height, nor is she blessed with lightning fast speed. What she does bring to the table is a working soccer mind, which enables her to find the right spots at the right times.
"She is very good tactically," said her head coach Pat Farmer. "Most of the people that are successful at her size are really quick or really fast. And she's not. She's just pretty quick and pretty fast. It's about her brain getting her into the right spots."
Janss began last season as a bench player, but gradually earned playing time to start six games towards the end of the season. In the early part of 2002, Janss has been used as the first forward off the bench. But with Tiffeny Milbrett and Minna Mustonen away on national team duty this weekend, things are about to change.
"He (Farmer) told me coming in that I would be competing for a starting spot," Janss said one afternoon following training. "And if I wasn't starting, I would be in a position to make an impact."
So far, Janss has made her share of an impact in limited minutes. She played the final 22 minutes in the team's opening night victory in Washington, then came in at halftime of their 6-1 crash in San Diego last week. That task was dubious, with the team already down 3-0. By the time Janss scored the Power's only goal of the day, it merely salvaged a 6-0 final.
"I just tried to make the most of the time that I had," she said. "Obviously I would have liked to make goals happen and create some chances, and I think we did create more chances, but it would have been nice if we could have tied it up and make a game of it. But what can you do?"
Janss said scoring with her team down six goals made for the least exciting goal of her soccer career. Such was not the case last year when the native of Brandon, Fla. had a knack for scoring or contributing to goals at key times.
Janss' first WUSA point came when she assisted on the goal which gave Milbrett the first hat-trick in league history. The Power went on a losing streak after that game, and 34 days later, Janss helped break the losing streak with a dramatic goal to cap a comeback against the Boston Breakers at Mitchel Field.
"Janssees' awesome header," as Christie Pearce remembers it.
In the playoffs, Janss kept the Power afloat with a sixth minute goal after the CyberRays had put the Power down a goal in the fourth minute.
"She ends up getting through and finding spaces," Farmer said of Janss' ability to get in the right place at the right time. "She doesn't have a lot of body to work with so she's got to find the slots in between people. She's scored goals for us and every goal has been, if not a highlight reel, something special."
Janss thinks, and Farmer agrees, that she is a much better player than at this time a year ago. They also agree that above all, it is her level of confidence that has allowed her to excel on the field.
"My confidence is at a better level than it was last year at this time," Janss said. "It was kind of up and down last year."
Said Farmer, "I think it's her confidence level. She knows she can play. Do I think she can be a starter? Yup. I really like her game. I think her game is tremendous."
Janss will start as an outside midfielder Saturday against the Charge. She could well start again the following week because Mustonen will still be away with the Finnish national team. After that, it's anybody's guess.
"She has a couple weeks when Minna's not here to show that she should be the starter, and she'll make Minna have to earn it back."
Janss won't turn 24 until July 1. Look for her to be in the right place, at the right time, whenever Pat Farmer calls, for the foreseeable future.
