Women's Soccer Weekly Release #1

Aug. 24, 2005

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Team Previews
UW-Milwaukee Panthers
(Last Year: 11-8-3 overall, 7-0-0 Horizon League)
UW-Milwaukee, the 2004 regular season champions is ready for action as the Panthers return all but three starters from last year. The roster includes seven seniors and six juniors, all of whom will be looking to add another League championship to their resume.

Last season, the Panthers fell 1-0 to Detroit in the final match of the Horizon League Championship and missed a NCAA Tournament bid. UWM's last NCAA appearance came in 2002, which would have been the freshman year for the current senior class.

UW-Milwaukee will return 2004 All-League First Team members Janice McGann and Elizabeth Chudy. McGann will serve as the team captain after starting the last 45 games. Chudy led the Panthers last season with 15 points off of five goals and five assists and will move from forward into the backfield. The 2003 League Newcomer of the Year Ginny Graczyk will be back in full effect after missing the 2004 season due to injury.

The UWM schedule proves to be tough as the Panthers will face Big Ten Competitors Northwestern, Wisconsin and 2004 NCAA Elite Eight team Illinois.

Butler Bulldogs
(Last Year: 7-10-2 overall, 4-3-0 Horizon League)
Butler enjoyed an undefeated spring season and hopes to reap the benefits of Coach Woody Sherwood's highly touted recruiting class.

Last season, Kristin Harnest became Butler's scoring leader with six goals. She returns for her junior campaign and will be joined at forward by 2004 All-League First Team member Meredith Buemi.

Returning to the midfield are senior and three-time All-League honoree Kate Lord and junior Caitlin Gill. Gill will be making a position transition to fill a void caused by the many injuries that have plagued the Bulldogs in the preseason.

The Bulldogs will face five in-state opponents before heading to Hawaii for the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Shootout in Honolulu. Butler will open the season at Louisville on August 26 and then will kick off its home schedule on September 2 as the Bulldogs will host Xavier.

Detroit Titans
(Last Year: 14-8-1 overall, 6-1-0 Horizon League)
After claiming the 2004 Horizon League championship, Detroit went on to down Michigan, 3-2, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In doing so, the Titans became the first League team to win an NCAA Tournament game since former member Notre Dame advanced the national championship game in 1994.

UDM lost four starters from last year, but the future looks bright as 2005 Horizon League Tournament MVP Allison Epple and Horizon League Player of the Year Mary Parker are both back for more. Parker finished out last season as the League leader in both goals (16) and points (37). Another top returner is Liz Hardy, who led all freshmen in the League in points (15) which she earned by scoring five goals and tallying five assists. Hardy was also awarded Second Team honors as well as being named to the All-Newcomer Team last season.

UW-Green Bay Phoenix
(Last Year: 5-11-3 overall, 2-3-2 Horizon League)
Last season, UW-Green Bay advanced to the semifinals for the second straight season. This year, the Phoenix will serve as host of the Horizon League women's soccer championship for the first time in 10 years and will look to 2004 First Team All-League selections Sarah Oligney and Stephanie Gross to lead them to the championship match. Gross led last year's squad with 17 points, while 2003 co-Horizon League Player of the Year Sarah Oligney followed with 10.

Sophomore Brooke Wikgren will once again appear in the goalkeeper position after being named to the 2004 All-Newcomer Team

The Phoenix will host all three in-state Division I opponents which includes Wisconsin, Marquette and Horizon League foe UW-Milwaukee.

Wright State Raiders
(Last Year: 9-8-2 overall, 3-3-1 Horizon League)
A new face will be on the sidelines this year for the Wright State women's soccer team in Pat Ferguson, who coached at Campbell University the past five seasons.

The Raiders will return 13 letterwinners including junior goalkeeper Steph Comisar, who recorded a 0.92 goals against average with 79 saves and six shutouts last season in earning Second Team All-Horizon League honors. Sophomore midfielder Desiré Morris led the team with four goals while senior midfielder Michelle Sarmiento had three.

Other returners include senior Kim Chianese and sophomore Megan Mattioda who each finished the season with three goals and one assist. Horizon League Second-Team honoree Jodie Shoaf will be back in action to join Sarmiento and Shoaf in the midfield.

Cleveland State
(Last Year: 0-20-0 overall, 0-7-0 Horizon League)
Second-year program Cleveland State will have the opportunity this season to do something it has never done before - play at home. After playing their home games off campus last season, the Vikings will benefit from the completion of renovations to Krenzler Field this year. The natural grass surface of the 20-year-old facility was removed in favor of the state-of-the-art Field Turf artificial surface and the support structure put in place for a removable air-suspended dome added once the soccer season ended.

The Vikings will add 13 newcomers to the seven starters and nine letterwinners that return from last year. Top returning players include sophomores Heather Clapacs and Amber Rasmussen. Clapacs, who earned Second Team All-League honors as well as All-Newcomer honors led the team with 43 shots and tallied one goal last season. Rasmussen finished the season with one goal and three assists, to garner All-Newcomer Team honors.

Loyola Ramblers
(Last Year: 9-7-4 overall, 3-3-1 Horizon League)
First-year head coach Frank Mateus will take control of the Loyola women's program after 10-year head coach Brendan Eitz made the transition over to the helm of the men's program.

The Ramblers boast a strong sophomore class which features Stephanie Pauli who led Loyola in scoring (seven goals) and points (15) last season. Other second-year Ramblers include Julie Kenkel and Katie Heidenreich. Both were named to the 2004 All-Newcomer Team while Kenkel garnered Newcomer of the Year honors.

Loyola will face competition such as Marquette, Northwestern and 2004 NCAA Tournament team Eastern Illinois. The Ramblers will open the season on August 26 at Xavier.

Youngstown State Vikings
(Last Year: 1-16-1 overall, 1-6-0 Horizon League)
The 2005 Penguins are composed of nine letterwinners from last season and a crop of 16 newcomers. Returning players include last year's second and third-leading scorers junior Maddie Lawther and senior Saide Brookman.

The midfield will boast the most experience as Britta Snowberger, Jessica Yarter and Tessa Brookman all return and will be joined by senior redshirts Diane Fellabaum and Roberta Johnson. Lawther will be accompanied by Kara Vezza and Brittny Humphrey at forward.

The Penguins will host a school-record 10 home matches this fall including the Penguin Classic which will be held September 9 and 11 at Stambaugh Stadium.