Saturday, August 20
Davidson, N.C.
7:00 p.m.
Davidson College Athletics
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UNC Asheville
Mary Marshall Meredith is one of six seniors who look to help guide the 'Cats to a SoCon Title and another trip to NCAA Tournament.
Let the 2011 Season Begin, Wildcat Women's Soccer Opens Season Under the lights on Saturday
8/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Gavin McFarlin -- Assistant SID
- Interview with head coach Greg Ashton
- Live Stats
- Live Video
- Live Audio
- Game Notes: Game #1 vs. UNC Asheville (pdf)
DAVIDSON, N.C. — The Davidson women's soccer team, two years removed from making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, will start its quest in making a return trip back on Saturday, Aug. 20, when the 'Cats open the 2011 season at home against UNC Asheville at 7 p.m.
The game will be the first of five straight at Alumni Stadium for Davidson, who will also play Providence, Florida Gulf Coast, East Carolina and UNC Wilmington during the five-game homestand.
The Wildcats begin their 23rd year of women's soccer and will be looking to continue their winning ways of late. They have tallied six winning seasons in the last seven years, hitting the 10-win mark in the six of the seasons, including twice going for a school-record tying 14 wins in 2005 and 2007.
In anticipation of the 2011 season, below is a look at the season preview for the Wildcats this year...
2011 Preview
Davidson enters the 2011 season seeking to get back to its winning ways after seeing a string of six straight winning years come to an end last year. The 'Cats will be looking to reach the 10-win plateau for the seventh time in the past eight seasons.
The Wildcats' roster features a solid balance of veterans and fresh new talent. With a group of six seniors returning from last year's 6-8-6 squad, the 'Cats can be expected to get back in the upper half of the SoCon.
“It was an up and down year last season, but I was happy with the progress some of our first-year players made,” said head coach Greg Ashton, who is entering his eighth season with a 78-50-16 record. His 78 wins are second-most in program history.
“I'm excited for the new year and the opportunity to continue to accomplish what we set out every year to do, which is win a Southern Conference Title and reach the NCAA Tournament.”
With the return of 17 letterwinners from last year's squad, plus the addition of 11 newcomers, the 'Cats have a solid foundation on which to build an even stronger 2011 campaign. Davidson will be seeking to capture its fifth SoCon Tournament Title after finishing 2-4-5 in league play a year ago. It snapped a run of six straight winning campaigns in league play, but the Wildcats still reached the league tournament where they nearly upset second-seeded Samford, falling in penalty kicks, 4-3.
“With a number of starters returning and the addition of a solid freshmen class, I'm optimistic that we can have a strong season,” said Ashton. “I think the talent and depth on our squad are two of our strengths, and I look for us to again be near the top in the conference.“
Defense
As has been the case the past few years, Davidson sported one of the best defenses last year, finishing with eight shutouts, two off the school bench mark. The 2011 Wildcat defense returns one of its main anchors in junior Louise Timboe, who has started 42 of her 43 games played in over her first two years. Timboe will take up some of the leadership lost by the graduation of Amanda Flink, a two-time second-team All-SoCon pick.
Also filling in on the backline will be senior Mary Marshall Meredith, who had her season cut short after four games due to an injury. Getting plenty of experience in Meredith's spot a year ago was Meg Sanborn, and she again will give the defense another viable option. Sanborn started 16 of 20 games during her freshman campaign.
Julie Calhoun, a junior, can also fill in the backline as well as move up to the forward spot. She was one of six Wildcats last year to play in all 20 games and she has started 23 contests during her first two years.
“We have a good foundation on the defensive side and it definitely will be one of our strengths,” Ashton said.
Senior Sophie Newsom returns after taking a year off. As a sophomore, Newsom started all 21 games and helped lead the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament in 2009 as she was part of a defense that held UNCG and College of Charleston scoreless for 198 minutes in the conference tournament.
Sophomore Lindsay Blum will again provide depth off the bench, while as many as four freshmen could see time on the backline.
Goalkeepers
Returning from a season-ending injury that wipped out her sophomore campaign, Christy Carry saw action in five games and started two of them as a junior. In one of her starts, she stopped a personal-best nine shots in a tie with Wofford. She sports a 6-2-5 career record between the pipes.
Rounding out the trio of returners is sophomore Renae Cairns. She played in three games, earning her first career start at Elon last year.
Midfielders
The middle of the field and forward positions will again have a mix of youth and veteran talent with senior Stephanie Gerow leading the way. Gerow will help guide the offense and fill the role of the graduated and second-team all-league pick Allison Drutchas. Gerow tallied a goal and two assists, while starting all 20 games a season ago. She has started 45 games during her three-year career.
Joining Gerow will be junior Rachel Barnett, who gives the Wildcats another scoring
The future bolds well for the Wildcats as the sophomore trio of Tori Krause, Lauren Swany and Lauren Mihan along with four freshmen all add to the depth at the midfield position. Krause led the sophomore trio with a goal and assist, while all three players saw action in at least 19 games apiece, with Mihan and Krause starting a combined nine games.
Forwards
The 'Cats will be very young at the forward spot as senior Elizabeth Underwood will lead a group of five first or second-year players who all could see time up front. Underwood started the final eight games of the season last year.
Helping Underwood out will be junior Rachael Newmister. The junior, who was limited to 11 games after missing the start of the year due to surgery, is the lead returning scorer from last year's squad as she scored a pair of goals and assisted on two others for six points. She has four goals and three assists in her first two years.
Joining that pair, will be sophomores Kelsey Krueger and Mihan, along with freshman Julia Singley and Stephanie Piperno. Krueger started 13 games as a freshman and netted her first collegiate goal in the first game of the season, a 2-0 win vs. UNC Wilmington. Singley was a three-time all-conference first teamer during her prep career and Piperno will look to add some offensive punch after leading her team three times in scoring and earning team MVP honors.
The Schedule
The 2011 campaign starts out with five straight non-conference home games, including two of which will be the 'Cats' first meetings in program history against Providence College and Florida Gulf Coast. In addition, Davidson will play at the Navy Tournament, the third time its played in the tournament, host cross-county rival Charlotte and play its usual 11-game slate in the SoCon.
Davidson took full advantage of its home field in 2010 and hope to do the same this coming season. The Wildcats finished unbeaten last year at home (5-0-3) for the first time in program history and pushed its home unbeaten streak to a school-best 12 games dating back to the end of the 2009 campaign. During the last six years, the Wildcats have sported a 36-11-7 record at Alumni Stadium.
The SoCon Tournament, an eight-team format with the four higher seeds hosting the first round, begins Oct. 30. The semifinals and championship game will be hosted by UNCG in Greensboro, N.C. Since 1994, the first year the Wildcats were members of the SoCon, they have gone 16-12 in the conference tournament and taken home the championship title four times — 1994, '95, '96 and 2009.
For more details on the schedule, click here to read "12 Home Dates Highlight Davidson W. Soccer 2011 Schedule."
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