Women's Soccer Season Preview

Introduction
As usual, aspirations are high for The College of Saint Rose women’s soccer team. The Golden Knights have solidified themselves as one of the nation’s premier small college programs and yet their best days may be ahead of them as the 2007 season approaches. Eight starters, including four All-Conference performers, are among 17 returning letterwinners for this year’s club that is ranked #14 in the NSCAA/Adidas preseason NCAA II national poll. That group will be joined by arguably the deepest recruiting class ever assembled by 12th year head coach Laurie Darling Gutheil, who was named the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year for the second time in five seasons in 2006. Furthermore, the club’s top-five scorers and starting keeper are all back in the fold.

2006 Review
Saint Rose is coming off yet another outstanding campaign. The Golden Knights garnered their fourth NCAA Tournament berth within a five-year span, captured their first NE-10 regular-season championship and set a school record for wins a year ago. Furthermore, the club was recognized with an NSCAA/Adidas Team Academic Award for the sixth straight year.

The Golden Knights wound up 17-3-1 overall, 12-1-1 in the NE-10, and ranked #13 according to the final NSCAA/Adidas national poll. They upended #23 Bryant in an opening round NCAA Tournament contest, before falling to host Franklin Pierce in a regional semifinal. The Ravens went on to advance to the national quarterfinals.

Saint Rose was also listed among the nation’s top-10 clubs for seven consecutive weeks and climbed as high as fifth, the highest ranking in school history, during the first week of October. The Golden Knights rattled off 10 consecutive wins to start the season, went 3-0-1 throughout four overtime contests at the midway point, outscored their opponents by a 53-17 margin and generated nearly twice as many corner kicks as they yielded on the year.

The most prominent losses from that squad are NSCAA/Adidas first-team All-American defender Kylee Litchfield and midfielder Alexandra LaFite. Litchfield was a two-year captain who established herself as one of the finest marking backs to ever a don a Saint Rose uniform. She also led the team with eight assists last year. LaFite made 19 starts and finished with nine points via a pair of goals and two helpers as a senior.

Returnees (17)
Three-time All-Conference midfielder Lindsay Bove (Holliston, MA/Holliston) heads the list of returnees. Bove, who has started all of the club’s 62 matches throughout her career, finished second on the squad with 26 points on 10 goals and six assists last season. She was also an NSCAA/Adidas first-team Scholar All-American. Bove will be joined in the midfield by a pair of fellow 2006 All-Conference selections in senior Ashley McGuire (Fishkill, NY/John Jay) and junior Deanna Wachtel (Altamont, NY/Guilderland). McGuire finished fourth in the league in scoring with a team-best 29 points on 11 markers, including four game-winners, and seven assists. Wachtel generated 19 points behind eight goals and three assists.

Two juniors in Sami Brown (Richland, WA/Hanford) and Kailey Egbert (Camp Hill, PA/Trinity) return up front. Brown produced six goals and a like number of assists while Egbert had five goals and an assist as a sophomore. Brown and Egbert both garnered All-Conference accolades as rookies in 2005 and have played exceptionally well throughout the preseason.

In the back, junior Alaina Lange (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) returns to the outside while sophomore Kira Duran (Colorado Springs, CO/Doherty) once again anchors the middle. Sophomore Alex Sobchak (St. Catharines, ONT/Sir Winston Churchill), who made 20 starts as a freshman in 2005, is also expected to play a prominent role on the outside after sitting out last year due to injury.

The club is solid in goal with senior and two-time All-Conference pick Lauren Steinberg (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) and sophomore Shannon Murphy (Charlton, MA/St. Peter Marian). Steinberg finished 16-3-1 with a 0.79 goals-against-average on the strength of seven shutouts while Murphy wound up with a 0.74 GAA, after surrendering just two goals in nearly 243 minutes of playing time, a year ago.

The remainder of the veteran group is comprised of senior midfielder Tara Padula (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown), senior forward Leslie Sandusky (Richland, WA/Hanford), junior fullback Caitlin Naylor (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point), junior midfielder Emma DeVault (Walpole, NH/Fall Mountain Regional) and sophomore midfielders Courtenay Gannon (Newburgh, NY/NFA) and Lizzie Shegda (Yardley, PA/Conwell-Egan Catholic). Another sophomore in midfielder Jordan Bowers (Colorado Springs, NY/Doherty) is also back, although she is not expected to dress this fall.

Padula knocked home a pair of goals last season while Sandusky finished with three, including the game-winner in a 2-0 victory versus Southern New Hampshire. Naylor appeared in 20 contests and made four starts while DeVault appeared in 16 matches. Gannon had a reserve role in 2006 after recovering from knee surgery, but appears on the cusp of coming into her own at this juncture. Shegda appeared in 16 contests throughout her rookie campaign.

Newcomers (11)
Eleven newcomers, 10 freshmen and a sophomore transfer, arrive at Saint Rose with enough talent to keep the program among the nation’s elite throughout the next four years. There is also a great deal of versatility in the group as most of the players are comfortable at several positions.

Jaclyn Evans (Georgetown, MA/Georgetown) was a two-time Cape Anne League All-Star who could have a prominent role at midfield and forward. Freshman fullbacks/forwards Kelly Guerin (Sutton, MA/Sutton Memorial) and Katie Whiting (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) are expected to see time as outside defenders, with the latter competing for a starting role. Sophomore Christy-Lea Smith (Castle Rock, CO/Chaparral), who arrives via Newberry College, will also see time at an outside fullback spot. Guerin was named a Massachusetts Division 3 All-State pick for Sutton Memorial, Whiting was a three-time Division 1 All-State pick at Wachusett Regional and Smith appeared in six matches at Newberry in 2006 after garnering honorable mention All-State accolades for Chaparral two years ago.

Jazmine Farrell (Raritan, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) is a lightning quick striker who will see time up front with Egbert and Brown. Amanda Deck (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) should play a primary role as a central midfielder and Kristen Bidosky (Mountainville, NY/Cornwall Central) is expected to play up front and at an outside midfield spot. Farrell garnered first-team All-Area and All-Conference accolades at Bridgewater-Raritan, Deck led her premier club to the U-18 New York State Cup Championship and Bidosky was a two-time Middletown Times Herald-Record All-Star at Cornwall Central.

Coco Ebersole (Fort Collins, CO/Poudre) will start at either midfield or an outside marking back position, Amanda Schweers (Greeley, CO/Greeley West) can play in the back and at midfield and Kaitlyn Berry (Monument, CO/Lewis Palmer) will have a major impact as a defender. Keeper Susan Cowan (West Boylston, MA/West Boylston) will have a reserve role behind Steinberg and Murphy. Ebersole was an honorable mention All-Conference pick for Poudre, Berry was a class 5A All-State and first-team All-Metro League selection at Lewis Palmer, Schweers was honored by the Greeley Tribune as its Athlete of the Year for girls soccer, and Cowan was named a Massachusetts Division 3 All-Star and Goalkeeper of the Year for West Boylston.

Schedule
Saint Rose plays host to non-conference opponent Adelphi on Thursday, August 23 at 2:00 pm at the Albany Academy for Girls in its season-opener. The Golden Knights will then travel to seventh-ranked Franklin Pierce on Saturday, September 1 to open NE-10 action. Saint Rose visits league rival UMass Lowell, ranked #24 in the preseason, on Wednesday, October 10 for another match that should have playoff implications. The NE-10 Tournament gets underway with quarterfinal action on Sunday, October 28 at on-campus sites. Aside from Adelphi, non-league opponents New Haven and Holy Family appear on the schedule. The Golden Knights visit New Haven on Saturday, September 8 while Holy Family arrives in the Capital Region on Sunday, September 30. The club’s three non-conference foes recorded a collective .692 winning percentage (35-12-13) a year ago. Furthermore, NE-10 rivals Franklin Pierce, UMass Lowell and Bryant all garnered NCAA Tournament bids as did New Haven.

Summation
From an overall standpoint, there is an awful lot to like about this club. It has experienced players who are accustomed to winning and understand the nuances of postseason action. There is also speed and depth to go with a vast influx of young talent. Bove is simply a dynamic all-around player. McGuire, Brown, Egbert and Wachtel are all legitimate scoring threats and Steinberg has established herself as one of the top keepers in the NE-10. Furthermore, the trio of Lange, Sobchak and Duran are more than capable of thwarting opposing attacking schemes. It also has to be noted that Litchfield’s absence on the backline leaves a huge void and the schedule provides little breathing room. Regardless, the Golden Knights should be poised to make a deep run into the postseason by the time November rolls around.