Great Northwest Athletic Conference 6901 SE Lake Rd
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Great Northwest Athletic Conference 6901 SE Lake Rd. Suite 1 Portland, OR 97267-2194 503.305.8756 Contact: Evan O’Kelly 2013 Women’s Soccer Report No. 1 (Aug. 21, 2013) Women’s Soccer: Nationally Ranked WWU and SPU Sit Atop GNAC Pre-Season Poll Greenback returns after recording a team-high eight goals Great Northwest Coaches Poll 2012 Records Pts 1.Western Washington (5) 19-4-0 (12-2-0, 1st) 61 and provides the Yellowjackets with one of the premier 2. Seattle Pacific (3) 15-4-2 (11-1-2, 2nd) 58 strikers in the conference. 3. MSU Billings 13-6-1 (8-5-1, 3rd) 41 4. Western Oregon 8-10-1 (6-7-1, 4th) 35 After being voted 2012 GNAC Coach-of-the-Year, Steve 5. Central Washington 6-10-2 (5-8-1, T-6th) 34 Ancheta lands his Western Oregon Wolves in the upper 6. Saint Martin’s 7-9-2 (5-7-2, 5th 33 half of the pre-season poll with 35 total points. 7. Northwest Nazarene 8-9-1 (5-8-1, T-6th) 17 th 8. Simon Fraser 1-16-0 (0-14-0, 8 ) 9 WOU has embarked on a steady climb up the conference rankings over the past four seasons, and Ancheta has turned (Note: First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on a the program around after just two seasons at the helm. 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis). The Wolves will rely somewhat on fresh faces this season PORTLAND, Ore. – After wrapping up the 2012 GNAC with just four starters returning, but its third place finish in title with a conference record of 12-2-0, Western goals (25) last season suggests WOU will be a serious Washington has received five of eight first place votes and contender throughout 2013. 61 total points to sit atop the 2013 GNAC pre-season coaches poll. Trailing WOU by a single point in this year’s poll is Central Washington, which tied for sixth in the 2012 final The Vikings had their hearts broken in overtime of the GNAC standings. Division II Regional Final last season, falling 2-1 to UC San Diego in dramatic fashion. The Duty sisters – Tarah and Lauren – return to the Wildcats’ lineup, with the prior earning first-team all- Viking head coach Travis Connell enters his 11th season GNAC honors as a defender and the latter scoring two with the program, and is ready to prove that his squad is goals as a freshman in 2012. worthy of the No. 12 ranking it received earlier this month from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Saint Martin’s checks in at No. 6 in the poll with 33 points (NSCAA). and will rely on honorable mention all-GNAC pick Ashley Richardson to lead the way. With the return of GNAC Defensive-Player-of-the-Year Brina Sych and first-team forward Kristin Maris, the The Saints finished fifth in the GNAC in 2012 and could Vikings begin the 2013 season in excellent position to pick easily shuffle places with WOU and CWU in what up right where they left off. promises to be a tight race for the fourth and final post- season bid. Landing second in the GNAC pre-season poll and securing the No. 23 ranking in the NSCAA poll is Seattle Pacific Falling into seventh place in the pre-season poll is University, which collected the other three first-place votes. Northwest Nazarene, which finished in a deadlock with CWU at sixth place last season in GNAC play. The Falcons finished second in the GNAC in 2012 and advanced to the regional semifinals before falling 2-1 to The Crusaders return 11 letter winners and six starters, eventual champion UC San Diego. including Jenny Field who scored a team-high seven goals during her junior campaign. SPU returns 10 starters including GNAC First Team defensive standout Shayla Page, and Second Team scoring Simon Fraser head coach Shelley Howieson is the longest machine Ali Martin. tenured skipper in the conference, however she finds her Clan at the bottom of the pre-season poll. After an impressive showing in 2012 behind second-team all-GNAC pick Heidi Greenback, Montana State Billings SFU scored just two goals last season and went winless in checks in at No. 3 in the pre-season poll. GNAC play. There is hope that the return of seven starters will give the Clan a chance to improve on their 2012 record. TEAM CAPSULES 23 games in 2012 and earned honorable mention all-GNAC notice. WESTERN WASHINGTON Vikings With Delanee Nilles (5-10, So., Poulsbo, WA – North Kitsap) returning to the midfield, the Vikings will look for Head Coach: Travis Connell, SPU ’96 (121-59-19, 10 years) her to match or better her five-goal performance as a Assistants: Katie Warner, Joana Houplin, Jamie Arthurs freshman in 2012. 2012 Record: 19-4-0 Conference: 12-2-0, 1st Stephanie Hamilton (5-2, So., Orting, WA – Bellarmine Returnees: Lettermen – 15 Starters - 7 Prep) was another freshman star last season, notching three Returning Starters (Games-G-A-Pts): Brina Sych (M, 5-6, Sr., goals and three assists in 20 starts. 20-5-5-15, GNAC Defensive-Player-of-the-Year), Kristin Maris (F, st 5-9, Sr., 23-9-6-24, 1 team GNAC), Kim Cooper (M, 5-1, Jr., 23- Ashton Griffen (5-4, Sr., Duvall, WA – Southern Oregon) nd nd 1-1-3, 2 team GNAC), Brianna Jones (D, 5-8, Jr., 23-3-0-6, 2 and Katherine Miccile (5-5, Jr., Kent, WA – Kentlake) each team GNAC), Catherine Miles (F/M, 5-7, So., 23-9-7-25, HM started every game and contributed a goal, and the pair GNAC), Kayla Russ (D, 5-7, Sr., 23-0-0-0, HM GNAC), Ashton combined for six assists in 2012. Griffen (M, 5-4, Sr., 23-1-4-6, HM GNAC), Delanee Nilles (M, 5- 10, So., 22-5-0-10), Stephanie Hamilton (F/M, 5-2, So., 23-3-3-9), One blow the Vikings suffered was the departure of 2012 Katherine Miccile (D, 5-5, Jr., 23-1-2-4) GNAC Player-of-the-Year Jamie Arthurs, whose Other Key Returnees (Games-G-A-Pts): Jessica Bertucci (F/M, microscopic 0.39 goals allowed average in the net was the 5-8, So., 5-3-1-7), Anna Geldenhuys (F, 5-7, Sr., 23-1-3-5), lowest in the nation. Kamryn Barney (D/F, 5-9, So., 17-0-1-1), Kamilla Deeb (M, 5-3, Jr., 15-0-0-0), Chelsea Jackson (D, 5-9, So., 20-0-0-0) SEATTLE PACIFIC Falcons Transfers: Nicki Williams (D, 5-8, So., Tacoma, WA – Highline CC) Head Coach: Chuck Sekyra, SPU ’89 (182-23-16, 10 years) Assistants: Chalise Baysa, Arby Busey, Sean Conners OUTLOOK 2012 Record: 15-4-2 Conference: 11-1-2, 2nd With two of the top 2012 GNAC goal scorers returning to Returnees: Lettermen – 17 Starters - 10 its lineup, reigning conference champion Western Returning Starters (Games-G-A-Pts): Shayla Page (D, 5-6, So., Washington has all the makings for a repeat of last year’s 19-3-0-6, 1st team GNAC), Ali Martin (F, 5-5, Jr., 20-6-6-18, 2nd performance. team GNAC), Annie Thomas (M, 5-5, Jr., 20-1-4-6, 2nd team GNAC), Laura Moore (F, 5-3, So., 20-2-5-9, HM GNAC), Josie Kristin Maris (5-9, Sr., Issaquah, WA – Issaquah) and Graybeal (D, 5-7, Sr., 21-1-0-2, HM GNAC), Alexa Diaz (D, 5-4, Catherine Miles (5-7, So., Anacortes, WA – Anacortes) Jr., 20-0-4-4, HM GNAC), Emma Holm (M, 5-4, So., 21-0-0-0, HM combined for 18 goals (nine apiece) and will return for the th GNAC), Heather Young (F, 5-5, Jr., 21-6-4-16), Riley Dopps (M, 12 -ranked Vikings in 2013. 5-5, Jr., 21-4-3-11), Natalie Harold (GK, 5-3, Sr., 0.89 GAA, 4 shutouts) Maris started all 23 games and added six assists to push her Other Key Returnees (Games-G-A-Pts): Kaylie Winston (F, 5-5, point total to 24, good enough for first-team all-GNAC Sr., 21-3-3-9), Demi Waitley (M, 5-9, Jr., 20-1-0-2), Arden Matro honors in 2012. Miles matched her fellow striker’s goal (M, 5-5, Jr., 18-0-0-0), Taylor Hauck (D, 5-4, So., 11-0-0-0), figure and turned in seven assists for a point total of 25, Stephanie Harold (D, 5-3, Sr., 13-0-0-0), Ashley Shaw (M, 5-3, giving her the title of GNAC Freshman-of-the-Year. So., 6-0-2-2) Transfers: Kelly Gould (D, 5-4, So., Everett, WA – Nevada) In addition to the reloaded offense, WWU also welcomes back GNAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year Brina Sych (5-6, OUTLOOK Sr., Vancouver, WA – Union), who added five goals and five assists in 13 starts in the midfield. Megan Lindsey, the GNAC scoring leader from a season ago, graduated and left a major offensive void the Falcons The Vikings lost Joana Houplin to graduation, whose will need to fill in 2013. presence in 19 games last year contributed six goals and a pair of assists to WWU’s championship effort. Luckily, a pair of junior forwards – Ali Martin (5-5, Jr., Beaverton, OR – Jesuit) and Heather Young (5-5, Jr., Second-team all-GNAC selection Kim Cooper (5-1, Jr., Lacombe, Alberta – Lacombe Composite) – are ready for Bellingham, WA – Bellingham) returns to the Vikings’ the task.