SUWANEE, Ga. - The Southern
Collegiate Athletic Conference is gearing up for what promises to
be an exciting year in women's soccer. Last year Trinity University
won its second straight SCAC title and seventh since 2000. The
Tigers advanced to post-season play as the lone representative of
the SCAC losing in the first round to Hardin-Simmons University.
One of the strongest women's soccer conferences in the nation, it
was the first time since 2004 that the SCAC has had less than two
teams enter post-season play in the NCAA Tournament. With a bevy of
talent returning the conference looks to play a major role in the
national championship picture once again.
Trinity University will enter the season certainly
as one of the favorites in the conference. Coach Lance Key, now
entering his fifth season, has the Tigers ranked pre-season 23rd in
the nation according to the NSCAA poll. With seven starters
returning to the roster, Trinity is poised for another SCAC title
run, but the Tigers will have to replace last season's SCAC
Offensive-Player-of-the-Year Jennifer Wray. Wray, who was also
named to the All-South region squad, helped lead the Tigers to the
top of every offensive category in the conference in 2007. Junior
midfielder Michelle Grumbeau just may be the answer to fill the
large shoes left behind by Wray as she comes off a sophomore
campaign in which she scored seven goals - two of which were
game-winners. Defensively Trinity will have a new player between
the posts with the graduation of Jennifer Fifield. Replacing
Fifield will be a task as the Tigers allowed only 12 goals in 18
games last year which was good enough for 27th in goals against
average in all of Division III last year.
Southwestern University is coming off the most
storied season it has experienced since joining the ranks of
Division III. With a 7-2 mark in SCAC play, the Pirates finished
second in the conference - the highest finish in school history.
This year however begins a new chapter in the history of
Southwestern women's soccer with the hiring of first-year coach
Jene' Baclawski. Baclawski will inherit a team of 23 returning
players and nine incoming freshman with nothing less than high
expectations. Returning for the Pirates are a handful of All-SCAC
selections from a year ago including sophomore forward Amy Douglas
and senior goalkeeper Eryn Snyder. As a freshman Douglas was third
in the conference in points (26) and second in goals (10), which
included four game-winners. The senior keeper Snyder will provide
leadership in the backfield that will try and improve on the seven
shutouts the Pirates produced a year ago.
Coming off a season in which it climbed to its highest-ever
national ranking (17th), Rhodes College and its
ten returning starters is excited to start a new season. Head coach
Bobby Lessentine, now in his fourth season at the helm of the Lynx,
has had success each season since he arrived back at his alma
mater. In each of the past three seasons, he has guided his team to
no fewer than eleven wins. Rhodes will be one of the most
experienced teams in the SCAC with ten returning starters and
seventeen returning letters winners (eight of which are seniors).
These veterans will be joined by ten incoming players to form the
largest team in Rhodes history. The Lynx will be lead by an
experienced back line starting with senior captain Katy Joyner - a
second team All-SCAC selection last year. Joining her will be
goalkeeper Becca Clarin who lead the league in shutouts (7) in 2007
and was apart of a defense that provided ten games in which the
opponents did not see the back of the net.
Jay Hoffman has continued his success in Danville, Kentucky as
Centre College has now won ten plus games over the
past three seasons. Hoffman and the Colonels return eleven seniors
from a team that went 11-6-1 a year ago. Leading that group will be
Kate Anderson and Erin Menard. Anderson, the reigning SCAC
Defensive-Player-of-the-Year, was also recognized by D3kicks.com by
being named to the All-Great Lakes Region team. Menard returns as
the league's career active leading goal scorer with 49 goals, which
places her tenth all time. The senior forward needs just nine goals
this season to break into the SCAC's top five for all-time leading
goal scorers. The Colonels, who finished fourth in the league last
year, will have a favorable home schedule that sets up a chance to
make a run at the SCAC title. All three teams that finished ahead
of Centre in the standings last year will visit the Colonels this
year, which should make for some exciting soccer in Danville.
With Coach John Carter entering his 19th season as the head coach
of DePauw University, the Tigers are experiencing
a feeling they have never had under his tutelage. Last season
marked the first time DePauw has had a losing season in the 17
previous seasons under his leadership. However one streak did
remain in tact and that was the team's winning record in conference
play. Since joining the league in 1998, the Tigers are one of only
two teams that can stake that claim over that 10-year stretch.
Seven seniors and sixteen letter winners return this year, led by
senior defender Jacki Ponder. Ponder, a second team All-SCAC
selection a year ago, will continue to anchor the Tiger backline.
DePauw, only three years removed from their most recent SCAC title
and the only other school other Trinity to win a conference title
in the last fifteen years, will look to get back on top in '08.
Sewanee-The University of the South, with eight
returning starters under the leadership of third-year coach Dylan
Harrison, will look to improve on its .500 record a year ago.
Leading the Tigers will be two all conference selections from 2007
- Fritsl Butler and Allison Davis. Butler, who earned first team
honors as a first-year player, will lead the midfield as just a
sophomore. Davis, a third team selection, returns after finishing
second in the conference last season in game-winning goals with
four. The Tigers however will be challenged this year on the
Mountain with not only a grueling conference schedule but also with
four non-conference opponents that reached the NCAA Tournament just
a year ago.
Austin College returns to the pitch after its
eleventh straight winning season under coach Paul Burns. Even more
impressive is that the soccer program has only been around in
Sherman, Texas for twelve years. The Roo's will be led by a handful
of returning players starting with LeAnne Nguyen. Nguyen was
honored with first team All-SCAC last year and was also named the
teams MVP for the second straight year. Senior Holly Messamore
returns to ignite the offense and has led the ‘Roos in goals
scored each of her previous three seasons. Defensively Austin looks
to be strong again after surrendering just 16 goals all of last
season with the return of three starters. Of the group goalkeeper
Kaitlin Elledge, who finished fourth in the league in goals against
average (1.03), will be poised for her sophomore campaign.
Coach Paul van Hooydonk enters his sixth season at Millsaps
College and there seems to be a different buzz around
his team this year. The Majors are coming off their most successful
season since 1995 and are looking to build off that success. With
eight returning starters and sixteen letter winners from a year
ago, expectations continue to grow in Jackson, Mississippi. Junior
Leslie Robichaux returns from a year in which she led the Majors in
points (20) goals (8) and assists (4). Robichaux was also selected
to the All-SCAC third team. Coach van Hooydonk will lean on his six
seniors to help guide the twelve new faces that join a team that
has a bright future ahead of them.
It's the start of a new chapter in Conway, Arkansas with the hiring
of Jim Evans at Hendrix College. The Warriors
return twelve letter winners, including six starters from a year
ago. Senior captain Michelle Story headlines the team as she led
the Warriors in goals (6) and was second on the team in points (14)
a year ago. Hard work in the off season has helped Coach Evans to
land ten incoming players in his first recruiting class. Hendrix
will be looking for a goalkeeper out of that group with the
graduation of Melissa Taylor. A nice mixture of returning players
and talented freshmen will have the Warriors looking for their
first winning season since 2002.
First-year head coach Alan Woods looks to help turn around an
Oglethorpe University program that has a
bright future ahead of them. The Petrels will return a good core
group of talent to help anchor ten incoming freshmen that will be
asked to make an immediate impact in Atlanta. Seniors Kira Carr and
Julie Vaughan will be joined by junior Bonnie Morschieser to
establish one of the more veteran backlines in the conference.
Behind them in goal will be Sarah Nania. Nania, a third team
All-SCAC selection as freshmen last season, led the league in saves
with 103 and looks to continue her solid play as a sophomore. Jamie
Dillion and Ryanne Arola will be the leading anchors in the
midfield. While the Petrels will be very young this year with only
seven upperclassmen, the future is bright for coach Alan Woods and
Oglethorpe.
In his sophomore campaign, coach Benji Walton will lead the
Birmingham-Southern College Panthers into just
their second year of SCAC play. The Panthers return eight letter
winners which include five starters from a year ago. The lone
senior will be Patricia George who will provide much needed
leadership as fourteen fresh faces will join the Panthers on the
Hilltop. After graduating six seniors, including the team's two top
scorers from a year ago (Caitlin Gordon and Mandy Woods) along with
the starting goalkeeper, a young group of Panthers are left with
large cleats to fill.
For the complete 2008 SCAC Women's Soccer
Prospectus, click here.