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2001 Season Outlook The Lady Jacket soccer team is coming off the best season in their brief four-year history and a repeat performance is not out of the question. Nine starters return from a squad that finished 12-7-2 and accepted an at-large berth to the NCCAA National Tournament. Veteran soccer coach John McGillivray is back for his fourth season with the women's program. He has reason to believe a solid roster is available to produce another winner. "Only time will tell if we can match or improve upon last year's effort," said McGillivray. "Things came together just right for us last season, but the schedule is tougher this time. "We may not be any stronger, as far as the starters are concerned, but we know the returnees have one more year of experience and hopefully have improved some. However, I believe we have greater overall depth than last year. All of our newcomers are capable of playing."
The top returning player is senior co-captain Michelle Ruhlman. The three-time NCCAA All-America midfielder is CU's all-time leading scorer with 75 points. She ranks first with 26 career goals and is second in assists with 23 after recording 11 goals and 11 assists last season. Junior defender Danielle Davidson is the other co-captain. She has started all 35 matches in the back during her first two seasons in the program and she shared the team's most valuable defensive player honor. Seven other seniors dot the 22-player roster including Jessica Alexander, Lisa Hockenberry, and Jenny Walker, who return for their fourth seasons. Amber Bungart, Annette Ruba, and Alicia Anderson are back for their third seasons while Amanda Porter moves from the basketball court to her first season of soccer. Junior Cindy Probus anchors a defensive unit that posted seven shutouts last year. She was an All-AMC First Team selection and an All-NAIA Region IX Second Team pick after recording six goals with four assists.
Sophomore forward Jane Adams tied the school record with 14 goals last fall as a rookie and led the squad with 35 points. She was voted to the All-NCCAA Midwest Region Team. Classmate Michelle Flow, who started all 21 matches last year, joins Alexander, Davidson, and Probus in the back. Melissa Fawcett steps into the goalkeeping duties after appearing in seven matches as a freshman. Junior Karissa Waldron and sophomores Dee Dee Asher, Jessie Gasiorowski, and Karen Nyhuis all saw some significant playing time in 2000. That group has the ability to contribute along with the five freshmen on the roster. The schedule is demanding with 16 AMC contests. The Jackets travel to three-time defending champion Tiffin, who is ranked in the NAIA Top 25 along with new league foe Houghton. Cedarville hosts ten matches including a homecoming date with Roberts Wesleyan. Taylor, Otterbein, and Wittenberg are the only non-conference opponents. | |||||||||||||||
