FULTON, Mo.- The William Woods University women's soccer team will get its 2014 season rolling on Monday night, as they travel to Atchinson, Kansas and face NAIA preseason No. 24 ranked Benedictine College. Kick-off is set to start at 7 p.m.
The Owls return several players from the 2013 squad that came off a second straight 10-win season, where the team tied the record for the most conference wins in a single season with seven. Among those returners are four first team All-American Midwest Conference (AMC) honorees, which include
Ashley Deckard,
Rachel Meyer,
Jamie Palermo and junior
Jordan McNamara.
Deckard, a Granite City, Illinois, native, is a two-time first team All-AMC selection for the Owls and is coming off a career-year in 2013, where she totaled four goals.
Meyer, a Southwestern Illinois College transfer, finished the year with 11 goals, ranking her second on the team, however, four of those goals were game winners, which was the highest on the team.
Palermo, a Santa Fe, New Mexico, native, is another two-time first team All-AMC selection and despite battling injuries throughout the year, the senior still managed to score nine goals and add three assists.
Junior,
Jordan McNamara, who also fought through injuries and illnesses last year, had a breakout year in 2013, as she led the Owls and set career-high marks for herself in goals (12), assists (9) and points (33).
Another key component for WWU is sophomore,
Brittany Griffin, who will start this season in net. Prior to her injury last year, she recorded 48 saves and two shut outs in her first season with the Owls.
The Ravens, who posted an 11-6-2 record last season, hold onto the No. 24 NAIA Top 25 Preseason Coaches' Poll ranking the squad seized in the 2013 postseason standings. Benedictine, the defending Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) champions, return a strong core of players from their conference title run in 2013, that contain all seven All-HAAC selections.
Head coach
Randy Hall says, "We are excited about this season's opening match against Benedictine College, it will be a great measuring stick for us."
He added, "We want to be competitive at the National Tournament and these are the types of games we need to have to prove where we are, where we are going and where we need to be," said Hall. "We will find out on Monday if we fit into that scheme of things."
The Owls will need to make sure they keep in check the Ravens top two forwards, Bethany Smith and Jordan Francescon, who combined to score 20 goals together for the Ravens in 2013. Along with returning a bulk of their goals from last season, the Ravens also get back senior goalkeeper, Ashley Holland, who collected 59 saves on the year.
"Monday night's game will be like Monday Night football at Benedictine," said Hall "It is their home opener and they will want to put on a good show for their student body. We talked to the team about how they are lucky to get this real tournament competitive experience right out of the gate, to see what it will take to succeed at the next level."
Hall is expecting to see determination from his squad on Monday and is eager to see, not just how his experienced returners will play, but how his talented newcomers respond to the competitive atmosphere in the 2014 season opener.
Fans stay updated at wwuowls.com tomorrow evening for a full recap on the Owls season opener from Atchinson, Kan.
