Davidson College Athletics
Albany
'Cats Set to Open 2015 Season at Home This Weekend
8/19/2015 1:29:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID
2015 Record Book (pdf)
Live Stats vs. Albany and Elon
Live Video vs. Albany and Elon
Game Notes: #1 Albany/Elon (pdf)
Coach Ashton Comments on Preseason
DavidsonPhotos.com
DAVIDSON, N.C. — The 2015 season starts this weekend at home for the Davidson women's soccer team as they open their campaign against Albany and Elon at Alumni Stadium. The women's soccer team officially kicks off the 2015-16 athletic year for Davidson.
The Matchup
Davidson (5-12-2, 2-5 A-10 in 2014) opens the new season at home for the sixth straight year when it hosts Albany (7-9-5 in 2014) and Elon (5-12 in 2014) Friday night and Sunday afternoon. It is also the fifth year in a row the 'Cats open with back-to-back home games in the first weekend of the season.
The All-Time Series/Last Meetings
The Wildcats and Great Danes are playing for the first time.
The matchup with Elon marks the 22nd meeting, with the 'Cats holding a 12-8-1 advantage. The two teams last met in 2013, Davidson's final year in the Southern Conference. The Phoenix took the regular season meeting 4-2 at Alumni Stadium, then ended the 'Cats' run in the SoCon Tournament with a 3-1 victory in the quarterfinals.
The 2015 Season Preview
In anticipation of the 2015 season, below is a look at the season preview for the Wildcats this year ...
The 2015 season has Davidson beginning its second year in the Atlantic 10. After a 20-year stay in the Southern Conference, the Wildcats began a new era last year as they moved to the A-10. This year's roster is full of experience in 16 returners, including six seniors who will look to help the program earn its second bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Davidson will look to improve on last season's 5-12-2 record, while it finished 2-5-1 in its first year in the new league. The 'Cats hope to carry their end of the season success a year ago (a win and tie) into this year with a roster that has a great balance of veterans and newcomers. They were picked to finish 13th in this year's A-10 coaches poll.
Head coach Greg Ashton enters his 12th season, having guided Davidson to 106 wins during his tenure. He ranks second all-time in program history in wins and has collected 177 career victories overall in 15 years.
"I'm always excited for a new year and the opportunity to continue to accomplish what we set out every season to do, which is win a league title and reach the NCAA Tournament," said Ashton. "After a fun transition year last season into the A-10, we are looking to move forward and make a name for ourselves in our second year in the conference."
With the return of 16 letterwinners from last year's squad, eight of them starters, plus the addition of 11 newcomers, the 'Cats have a solid foundation on which to build a strong 2015 campaign. "I think the talent and depth on our squad are good strengths again for us, and we are excited for the season to start and put all our hard work during the preseason into real game situations," said Ashton.
Defense
Defensive quick hits...
•The 'Cats will need to replace three-fourths of their defense with the graduation of Rachel Stelter, Zoe Hayes and goalkeeper Rachel Locke.
•Locke, a four-year starter, left Davidson as one of the program's top all-time keepers, ranking second in career goals against average at 1.24 and shutouts with 19.5, including five of them in 2014. She also finished third all-time in saves with 327.
•The defense last season had a 1.16 GAA, while shutting out five opponents.
•Returning to lead the defense is senior captain Dani Johnson.
•She has started 52 of her 60 career games, including all 19 a year ago.
•Johnson also is a threat to score on offense, having scored six career goals.
•Helping Johnson on defense will be fellow senior Maddie Fisher. She saw action in 11 games last year, starting nine of them.
•The sophomore duo of Rachael Western and Lauren Grace Himes also return. They played in 18 and 19 games, respectively, as freshmen last year. Himes started nine of her games, while Western saw her name in the starting lineup 13 times.
•Himes chipped in a goal and an assist during her first year.
•Freshmen Megan Goodling, Shannon Ballard and Megan Smith all could see time off the bench.
Goalkeeper quick hits...
•For the first time in four years, the 'Cats will have a new goalkeeper as sophomore Becca Ravitz, and freshmen Alex Carpenter and Kendall Thomas will look to replace Locke.
•Ravitz did not see any official game action last year backing up Locke. She hails from Skillman, N.J., where she started 82 games and earned 35 shutouts in her prep career.
•A local product, Thomas comes to Davidson from Cornelius, N.C., and played at Cannon School. She was a NCSCA Girl's Soccer All-Region Team pick in both 2013 and 2014.
•Carpenter hails from Lee's Summit, Mo., where she played at Blue Springs South. She was a ECNL North American League National Finalist.
Offense: Midfielders & Forwards
Offensive quick hits...
•Davidson's offense scored 12 goals to go with eight assists.
• The 'Cats fired off 170 shots (8.9 per game).
• The offense returns nearly 75 percent of its scoring, led by Vicky Bruce.
•Bruce, a transfer from North Carolina last year, tallied a pair of goals and a team-high three assists for seven points. She registered a pair of game-winning scores.
•Defender Johnson scored a game-winning goal on a penalty kick to pace Davidson over Army, 3-1.
•Sarah Tuggle and Lauren Grace Himes each recorded a goal and an assist for three points.
•Ashley Fink will look to rebound after a down sophomore season. As a freshman she scored three goals and assisted on another to earn All-SoCon Freshman Team honors.
•Davidson will have to replace offensive staples Stephanie Piperno and Becca Fisher. Piperno finished her career with 16 goals and nine assists after getting four scores and an assist as a senior last year.
•Fisher, the 2011 SoCon Freshman of the Year, registered a pair of assists in her final season to finish with 10 goals and nine assists, while starting all but two of her 73 career games played.
•Junior Kate Joss scored a goal last year to give her four through her first two years.
•Filling the middle is Jenni Isaac and Adelaide Cummings. Isaac has started 45 of her 58 career games played in. The senior was named to the A-10 All-Academic Team last year, while earning A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for both the Fall and Spring semesters.
•Cummings saw action in 18 of Davidson's 19 games, scoring her first collegiate goal in a win vs. Army.
Newcomers
•Head coach Ashton brought in 11 freshmen for the 2015 season.
•The freshmen hail from 10 different states, including North Carolina where three are from down the road in Cornelius and Charlotte.
•In addition to keepers Carpenter and Thomas, the group includes six midfielders, Natalie Connell, Perry Zollicoffer, Ann-Robert Goode, Mia Hodges, Catherine Leon and Alexa Landsberger. In addition to Mia Hodges and Zollicoffer, who each can play defender, the other defenders are Megan Gooding and Shannon Ballard, who also played forward in high school as did Megan Smith.
The Schedule
Beginning the program's 27th season, the Davidson women's soccer team will host five non-conference opponents, including North Carolina State, and enter their second year in the Atlantic 10 by being the host school for the league championship in November. The Wildcats biggest road trip will be a visit to Virginia Tech, which two years ago advanced to the College Cup and last year reached the round of 16.
For more details on the schedule, click here on 2015 W. Soccer Schedule Set for Davidson.
Next on the Schedule
Davidson plays a single game next weekend at Campbell to close out August on the 29th.
