SPOKANE, Wash. - Fresh off a fourth-place finish which tied for the best West Coast Conference season in Gonzaga University's 20 years of women's soccer, head coach Amy Edwards has a lot to look forward to in 2011.
When the Bulldogs kick off the 2011 season at the University of Illinois Friday at 5 p.m. PT, there will be 13 returners from last year's squad and eight newcomers donning the GU colors to face an Illini team that is ranked 24th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) preseason poll. Although the Zags graduated talented players from 2010, such as midfielders Sheridan Jones, Cat Cullen and defender Elle Sweeney, Edwards is up for the exciting challenge of integrating the new faces into the high pressure Bulldog system.
"We have had a great preseason these past two weeks and couldn't be more excited about the upcoming 2011 slate of games," said Edwards, who enters her third year at the helm. "We capped our training with a solid performance against a hard working Central Washington University squad and believe our players are ready for the challenges that lie ahead."
Even though there will be eight new faces on the roster this season, Edwards still plans to lean on the returning upperclassmen to guide this young team on and off the field. Leadership will begin with captains senior forward Sarah Rhodes and junior center back Morgan Manchester. The leading point getter from 2011 with 5 goals and 6 assists for 16 points, Rhodes has always been a consistent performer for the Zags, ranking fourth in assists, seventh in total points and eighth in goals scored in her career. Manchester, who has started 34 of 40 games in her career, is returning having played the second most minutes for the Zags in 2010. Her tough resolve and experience will be a key to the team's ability to shut down a schedule of strong opponents.
"I have been very pleased with the leadership our upperclassmen and two captains have provided on and off the field for our young players," Edwards said. "They have really helped our newcomers adjust to the rigors of our style of play and the expectations of what it means to represent our program on the field, on campus and in our community."
As always, the Bulldogs will be playing another tough non-conference and WCC schedule, which includes six NCAA participants from 2010. The Zags are looking forward to the challenges that will be in front them in away games against nationally ranked Illinois, Mountain West members Air Force and Boise State University and future WAC member and regional opponent Seattle University. Home matches are highlighted with Pacific-12 Conference members Washington State University and NCAA Elite 8 participant University of Washington, as well as regional rivals University of Idaho and University of Montana.
For the first time in more than 30 years, the WCC has added a new institution to the league in nationally-recognized BYU. With the addition of the Cougars, who have been to the NCAA tournament 13 of the last 14 years, the already challenging conference schedule just got even tougher. Despite the WCC adding another top team, Edwards believes there is a lot of parity and there are no easy games, no matter whom you are playing.
"We do our best to play a tough non-conference schedule so our team is prepared for the extremely difficult WCC," said Edwards. "This year is no different and our young team will be tested early and often. There is no reason why five or six teams from the WCC can't reach the NCAA Tournament and we plan to be one of those teams."
The following is a position-by-position look at the 2011 version of the Bulldogs.
FORWARDS
Returning to the front line will be senior captain Sarah Rhodes, redshirt senior Katie Spangenberg, redshirt junior Emma Dolcetti, who is back from ACL surgery, and junior Emily Hutchins. Spangenberg has always been a huge spark plug off the bench, playing a career high 659 minutes in 2010 and looks to garner more minutes in her final campaign. Dolcetti had hoped to be a huge contributor in 2010, but unfortunately suffered a season-ending injury in the opener against the University of Utah last fall. She is back now and plans to pick up right where she left off with a solid preseason under her belt. With three goals in each of the last two seasons, Hutchins is looking to take on more responsibility in the attack and has worked hard in the off-season to become more consistent and dangerous around the goal.
Missing will be assist leader from 2010, sophomore Cassie Geerdts, who will be sidelined for the rest of the season due to a knee injury suffered during training camp. Although she was a huge bright spot from 2010 and will be missed in 2011, Edwards believes it is just another opportunity for someone else to step up their game and rise to the occasion.
New to the attack in 2011 are two local products in Mead graduate Mikayla Anderson, and Lakeside (Nine Mile) grad, Kasey Rubosky. Anderson showed she is ready to mesh right into the offense with a pair of goals in a span of two minutes in the team's exhibition against CWU. Not to be out done, the versatile Rubosky scored a goal in the CWU match, which pleased Edwards.
"Obviously we are going to really miss Cassie and it is heartbreaking to see her go down with the knee injury, but that just means someone else will have the chance to step up," stated Edwards. "We worked a lot on improving our attack in the spring so our returnees are prepared to fill in and if the preseason match is any indication of what Mikayla and Kasey can do then we are definitely headed in the right direction."
MIDFIELDERS
The Bulldogs midfield has a complete new look for 2011. Depending on the team's needs, Rhodes will double as a forward or midfielder, but will only have one other Zag in the midfield that consistently played there last season in senior Casey Gould. Gould continually provides a needed physical presence and a bleed for Gonzaga mentality in the middle.
With more options across the backline, Edwards is able to move sophomores Emily Eckmann and Ali Ohashi where the coaching staff always believed the belonged, which is into the middle of the park. Eckmann is expected to help fill the hole left by last season's captain, Cullen. Emily's passing and heading ability will be tremendous assets for the Bulldog's desire to possess the ball. Having played mostly as an outside back last season, Ohashi has improved her game and will provide depth in the midfield.
Newcomer's Tori Lee and Jordan Travis also look to play considerable minutes in the midfield for the Zags this season. Having played several years together on the same club team, Eckmann, Lee & Travis are a natural fit for the Bulldog midfield. Lee provides the technical skill and creativity, while Travis is the composed and dependable one that rarely gets rattled even when things are difficult.
"There are definitely a lot of new faces in our midfield and we working hard to find the right combination of players for this season," said Edwards. "Emily has done a great job trying to fill Cat's shoes, Tori is one of our more skillful players, Jordan is a calming presence, while Gould and Ohashi provide the tenacity that is needed. Our midfield may be young at times but the talent is definitely there for us to succeed."
DEFENDERS
The backline looks to have the most depth of any spot on the roster but that doesn't mean they won't be young. Four returners and three newcomers will make up the group battling for the four spots available in the back. One returner that is sure to hold down a spot in defense is center back Manchester, who will be the cornerstone to the Zags ability to stop opposing attackers.
"Morgan is without a doubt our best 1-v-1 defender and continually sets an example for other players on what we want from a center back," mentioned Edwards. "Other players have really learned from her play because she is just so tough and hard to beat. We look for her to lead this young group of backs both verbally and organizationally."
The other returnees include senior Caitlin Salo, junior Anna Lund and sophomore Danielle Simien. Lund and Simien prove to have the most experience in the backline of the three, but Edwards is quick to point out how each of them have improved this past spring.
"Anna has done well to move into the center and learn the role of a central defender," Edwards stated. "We promised to give Salo a chance to learn the outside back position and she has really benefited from that consistent training, while Dani continues to grow in her development and understanding of the responsibilities of being an outside back at this level."
The three newcomers at the back include Katey Pennington, Cricket Harber and Kenzie Lubeck. Pennington joined a short list of students across the country to graduate high school early and venture into college early. She joined the Bulldogs in January and took part in the spring season program and gained valuable experience that has prepared her for this fall. Harber, club teammates with Lee, Travis and Eckmann, looks to challenge for the other center back role and provides a huge aerial presence as well as an ability to pass a ball over distance. Lubeck played numerous positions in high school and club, which will provide some versatility, but for now looks to settle in as one of the outside backs this season.
"KP's decision to graduate high school early was a huge bonus for us and her last spring, and it has definitely shown through in her preparation for this season," said Edwards. "We don't expect her to have quite as many ups and downs as most freshmen usually do during a season. Cricket and Kenzie have fit in very well with our style of play, being able to defend and attack from the back, and we expect that they will challenge right away for playing time."
GOALKEEPERS
Another hole left by a graduating senior Lauren Ames was the goalkeeper position. In comes veteran junior transfer Susan Brown, who was recruited by Bulldogs associate head coach Derek Pittman at Arkansas State University prior to coming to Gonzaga. Although Edwards expressed concern recently about the goalkeeper position, she has quickly settled in with Brown once she saw the experience and maturity that Brown has been able to provide in helping Manchester organize the backline.
"Susan is very comfortable with the demands of being a goalkeeper at this level and fits in very well with our style of play," Edwards said. "She is fearless off her line, a great shot stopper, and deals very well with crosses in the box. She is complete goalkeeper because she not only helps lead our defense but she has the ability to start our attack quickly with her kicking and distribution. She is a great asset to our young backline and midfield."
As Edwards, along with her longtime colleague Pittman and new assistant Billy Barmes, guides and instructs the team from the sideline it will be up to the upperclassmen to be consistent and help provide the needed leadership this young team is looking for to contend for an NCAA Tournament bid.
"Overall, consistency is our number one goal this year," Edwards stated. "We had great wins last season against LMU, Pepperdine and San Diego, but were unable to put performances like that together on a consistent basis. Needless to say, with a young team we know there will be ups and downs throughout the season but for us we are approaching this season with the mentality of 'it's a new year, new season, so why not us.' Our main objective is to limit those inconsistencies to reach our ultimate goal of participating in the NCAA tournament."
