All starters return for Webster women’s soccer

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Webster Womens Soccer Team works on defense and offense drills to prepare for the start of the season. PHOTO BY MACKENZIE WILDER

2013 Preseason SLIAC rank • Voted No. 1 by conference coaches

2012 season finish

• Defeated in first round of NCAA National Championship Tournament 6-0 by Wheaton College in Illinois.

 

Returning for 2013 season

• All three captains: Seniors Ally Nikolaus, Kristen Muehlenfeld and Katie Aubuchon.

• Junior forward Kristin Montgomery led team in goals (12).

• Junior goalie Jessica Davis led SLIAC in goals against and save percentage.

• All 22 players from the 2012 roster.

New to team

• Junior midfielder Lindsey Adshade transferred from D-1 Bowling Green State University (Ohio).

• Freshmen defenders Jodi Kaiping and Allison Ferguson are expected to start on the back four.

 

Season outlook

There is no section outlining what was lost from the 2012 women’s soccer team, because every player on that roster is returning.

“The expectations are certainly higher,” said Luigi Scire, head coach. “The goals never change to, first off, win conference in the regular season and be the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament.”

Scire said he wanted to schedule games against the most competitive non-conference opponents he could.

“We want to see how we measure up at least in the early part of the season,” Scire said. “It’s important to have success in terms of regional recognition and beyond.”

Most notable on the schedule this year is the No. 4-ranked team in the country and local rival Washington University of St. Louis.

Webster was the worst seeded team in the region for the NCAA National Championship Tournament. Scire said his goal is to win eight or nine of the 10 non-conference games to earn a higher seed this year.

Over the summer, the team was undefeated in a collegiate league at Soccer Park. They played teams at the D-II, junior college and NAIA levels like Rockhurst University (Mo.) and University of Missouri-St. Louis.

“They worked extremely hard in the off-season,” Scire said. “I think the players understood that it wasn’t just a summer league, but a chance to improve as players and as a team.”

 

Early results

The 2012 women’s soccer team won 13 of their 16 games by shutouts. The 2013 squad is only 11 shutouts away from matching that.

The Gorloks earned back-to-back wins in their first weekend of the season. Webster traveled to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Ind.) and Franklin College (Ind.) on Aug. 30 and 31.

Webster needed only one goal from junior midfielder Amy Schield to defeat Rose-Hulman 1-0. Contributions came from everywhere against Franklin as six different Gorloks scored in route to a 6-0 victory. Senior forward Jordan Fosburgh led in points, tallying a goal and an assist during the game.

Reporting by Scott Lunte. 

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