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2003 Season Outlook The Cedarville women’s soccer program enters just its seventh season, but the Lady Jackets will be seeking their fourth straight winning season. Head Coach John McGillivray, beginning his sixth campaign at the helm of the program, welcomes back six of his top seven scorers, including the top two, and a solid goalkeeping corps. Perhaps the top player back is co-captain Jane Adams, who only played three games last season. She scored a school-record 35 points in each of her first two seasons playing a forward position, but she appeared in just three matches in 2002 before injuries forced her to the sidelines for the rest of the schedule. The NAIA granted Adams’ medical “hardship” request and she has two years of athletic eligibility remaining.
Coach McGillivray is excited about the potential of his 2003 squad. “We are young with just four juniors and four seniors on the roster. I am pleased with the depth we will have at most positions and that will make us stronger. We went after speed in our recruiting and I am anxious to see how the freshmen adapt to the college game. I think there are five rookies who could make an immediate contribution for us.” Heading the list of other returnees is Melissa Fawcett, a senior keeper who started 17 of the 20 matches last year, registered two shutouts, and posted a 1.91 goals against average. Also back for their fourth seasons in the program are forward Jessie Gasiorowski and midfielder Karin Nyhuis. Ruth Young, a senior defender, returns for her third season after playing in all 20 contests last year. Junior midfielder and co-captain Chelsea Casto appeared in all 20 matches last season with two goals and two assists and will again provide a stable force in the middle.
The nucleus of the 2003 squad is a talented group of eight sophomores who received valuable experience last season. The Lady Jackets leading scorer, Nicole James, returns after registering seven goals and seven assists in her initial season. Candi Jelinek, a sophomore midfielder, added four goals and two assists last year to finish second on the team in scoring despite suffering a mid-season injury that sent her to the sidelines. Team MVP Krista Watson also returns after a successful first season that included two goals and two assists. The other sophomores expected to make major contributions again this season are Laura Radcliffe, Lauren Sato, and Katie Thompson. A 17-match schedule, including the difficult South Division of the American Mideast Conference, awaits the Lady Jackets with five of the first six on the road. The season opens on Sept. 3 at Ohio Northern and the first home match will be Sept. 13 against Oberlin. Five matches will be played under the lights on the home turf. | |||||||||||||||
