Maryville Machine returns to the pitch
Women's Soccer - August 20, 2010
Maryville College Sports Information
When the Maryville College women’s soccer program opens preseason practice on August 20th, they will look strikingly similar to the group that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Maryville finished the 2009 campaign with a record of 14-5-1 and had their season cut short with a 5-0 loss to Trinity University (TX). The Scots graduated only one player from last year’s team, and expectations are extremely high for the program who has won 100 straight GSAC games. “The loss of Lauren Metts is a pretty big one for our team because she was such a steady player for four years. Yet, we feel very good about the other ten starters who are back. The key question to our season is how much the sophomore class has developed and are they ready to take the next step. If not, our coaching staff feels confident that some of the freshmen coming in are ready to push for time,” said Head Coach Pepe Fernandez.
The recruiting class for the women’s program has a solid nucleus of local talent and quality student-athletes from the southeast region of the country. The coaching staff landed nine new players in total with three student-athletes hailing from the Knoxville area. “We are really excited with this class because we were able to keep some of the better local talent in the area. I think this group, combined with the sophomore class, will enable us to continue to play at a very high level for years to come,” said Head Coach Pepe Fernandez
Regardless of how the starting lineup shakes out for the Scots, the coaching staff can sleep well at night knowing that they have one of the top goalkeepers in the South Region. Junior Desiree Simmons will once again patrol the goal in 2010 after an all-conference season last fall. Simmons finished last season with 10 shutouts and 109 total saves. The Scots added one keeper in the recruiting class this year in Florida product Michelle Foulke. Foulke will have the luxury to learn from one of the nations best for the next two seasons.
The Maryville College coaching staff shouldn’t have to worry about too many shots coming the keeper’s way, because the Scots return their entire defensive unit from 2009. Leading the group is junior Jordan Chase. Chase was an All-Conference selection last season after making 17 starts for the Coach Fernandez’s club. The Scots also return a trio of sophomores who had tremendous rookie campaigns last fall in Kelsie Kestner, Kayla Kiernozek, and Hannah Rector. Kestner was named to both the Great South All-Conference team and the All-Freshman group. Rector was also an All-Freshman selection last season while Kiernozek made 10 starts in her first season in a Scots uniform. Maryville has plenty of depth at the back end of the field as they welcome back senior Mandy Seiler who missed much of last year due to an injury. Also returning to campus this fall will be junior Felicia Maldonado and sophomore Caitlin Ramsey. Maldonado appeared in 10 games last season while Ramsey found the back of the net three times in 2009. Finally, the Scots added one defender who will look to push for time in Maryville High graduate Abby Davis.
The midfield position should be one of the more intriguing position battles throughout the preseason. The Scots return two starters from last season in senior Jessica Thompson and sophomore Anna Ericksen. Thompson appeared in 19 games last fall while Ericksen was named to the GSAC All-Freshman team. The final starting spot in Coach Fernandez’s system will be decided by a strong nucleus of candidates. The Scots bring back two sophomores who earned valuable playing time last season in Kylie Ghering and Windsor Wall. The pair combined for five goals in their Maryville College debut season. Finally, the coaching staff is excited with the four midfielders they added this offseason in Lauren Evans, Alexis Franco, Alex Royer, and Lauren Ward.
The Maryville offensive attack should once again be one of the best in the country. Leading the charge is one of the most decorated players to ever put on a Scots uniform in senior Jessica Petersen. Petersen had a tremendous season last fall by scoring 19 goals with 48 total points. Petersen was the Great South Conference Player of the Year and an All-South Region selection. She enters the 2010 campaign second in the Maryville College record books in career goals and points. These marks should stand no chance to Petersen’s prowess when she has the ball at her feet. Joining Petersen up front is 2009 All-Conference forward Alex Wingo. Wingo was second on the team in 2009 with eight goals in 17 games played. The Scots added three freshmen who will add depth to the forward position in Ashley Howarth, Phoebe Leo, and Kelsie Payne. “The forward position should be the strength of our team and I expect us to put constant pressure on the opposing keeper game in game out. Jessica Petersen might be the best striker in the country, and hopefully she can avoid some of the nagging injuries that she played through the past two years,” said Head Coach Pepe Fernandez.
The 2010 schedule will once again feature several challenging non-conference games. The season opens on September 4th when the Scots host the Nike Kick-Off Classic and welcome Birmingham-Southern and Greensboro College to campus. As the season progresses, the Scots will renew their rivalries with Emory University, Lynchburg College, and the Tigers of Sewanee. Head Coach Pepe Fernandez had this to say about the 2010 schedule and the upcoming season, “We will certainly be tested with our non-conference slate of games, and it starts with our season opening tournament. The addition of Covenant College to the conference is an exciting change because they are a good quality opponent. This year’s team has a chance to be special and make another appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Yet, the goal for the girls this year is to not just make the tournament or advance to the second round. We fully expect to be one of the top programs in the country and we want to make a trip to the 2010 Final Four. If we stay healthy and take it one game at a time we will give ourselves a chance to make this goal a reality.”
