FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University women's soccer team will begin its 2015 season on Friday under the lights at Firley Field, as the Owls host No. 23-ranked Missouri Valley College. Kick-off will start at 7 p.m.
The Owls (0-0), are coming off a 2014 campaign that saw them go 12-7-3 (8-1-2 AMC), win the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament for the first time since the 2001 season in penalty kicks against Missouri Baptist and advance onto the NAIA National Tournament.
This season, the Owls are looking to replace impact players from last years' roster, which includes,
Sarah Krispin,
Amy Faus,
Ashley Deckard,
Brittainy German,
Danielle Wilson,
Rachel Meyer,
Casey Kesselheim,
Jamie Palermo and
Brittany Griffin.
Looking to lead the way is senior
Jordan McNamara, who is coming off an impressive 2014 season on the pitch, which saw her score a career-high 14 goals, total 33 points and add 75 shots. For her efforts, she was named to the All-AMC First-Team for the second straight year.
Another junior looking to guide the team toward another successful season is
Rochelle Garcia, who appeared in a career-high 20 games on the Owls defense and totaled eight shots on net. Senior
Desiree Strief, will be another player to look out for, as she played in 14 games and made one start last season for WWU.
With the amount of departing seniors, the Owls "next man up" mentality, which they pride itself on, will be key this year, as the starting lineup on Friday night will feature nine new starters, with the only returners being McNamara and Garcia.
Among the eight newcomers to the roster, the likes of
Halle Schroeder,
Renee Meyer and
Kailyn Graham on defense, will be looking to make an impact right out of the gate this year for WWU.
This will be the second straight meeting between the Owls and Vikings (1-0-1), as last year on September 9
th, MVC defeated WWU, 4-0.
Missouri Valley is looking to build off its 11-5-2 (4-2-1 Heart of America Athletic Conference) record from last season and a second-place finish in the HAAC.
The team returns leading scorer Inmaculada Martinez, who scored an eye-popping 10 goals in just five games for the Vikings in 2014. They also bring back Andrea Garcia (nine) and Maria Blasco (eight), who combined for 17 goals and 13 assists.
In net, Irene Sanchez is protecting the goal for another season, after she allowed just 13 goals last year in 18 games, while making 45 saves.
In 2015, MVC has two games under its belt already, as they tied (0-0) No. 2-ranked Northwestern Ohio back on August 21
st, but earned its first victory on the year, against Lindenwood University-Belleville four days later, defeating the Lady Lynx, 3-1.
Against LU-Belleville, Missouri Valley outshot them 10-2, while scoring one goal in the first half and two goals in the second. Finding the back of the net for MVC, included, Martinez (12
th minute), Riley Kerr (56
th minute) and Blasco (79
th minute).
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and score from Firley Field.
