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RIPON, Wis. – Lake Forest edged out St. Norbert for a 2012 Midwest Conference (MWC) Women’s Soccer Championship and is picked to do so again in the 2013 MWC Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
The Foresters garnered seven first place votes and had 96 points which were five points better than St. Norbert who captured three first place votes and 91 points. Carroll failed to qualify for the MWC Tournament last season for the first time since 2003 but was predicted to qualify with 78 points and a lone first place vote while Grinnell was tabbed fourth with 74 points. Monmouth earned 66 points for a fifth place prediction while Ripon (57 points) and Illinois Col. (46) were slotted sixth and seventh. Lawrence (37), Cornell (24), Beloit (20), and Knox (16) round out the poll.
Nearly 70 percent of the 2012 All-MWC team returns for the 2013 season, including nine of the 11 players that were named to the First Team. Offensive Player of the Year Katie Vanden Avond (St. Norbert) and Defensive Player of the Year Becky Esrock (Lake Forest) headline the returnees while the Foresters also bring back forwards Holly Lesperance and Michelle Greeneway after earning top league honors. Forward Zoe Kurth joins Vanden Avond on the Green Knights roster while Monmouth also has a pair of First Team award winners back in forward Lauren Kellen and goalkeeper Samantha Barranco. Defender Missy Walz (Carroll) and forward Brandi Peltier (Ripon) also return to a talented pool of players for the 2013 season.
Voting is done by the MWC head women’s soccer coaches. Each coach votes for the 10 other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (10 points for first, nine for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
2013 MWC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
|
Place |
Team (First Place Votes) |
Points |
|
1 |
Lake Forest (7) |
96 |
|
2 |
St. Norbert (3) |
91 |
|
3 |
Carroll (1) |
78 |
|
4 |
Grinnell |
74 |
|
5 |
Monmouth |
66 |
|
6 |
Ripon |
57 |
|
7 |
Illinois Col. |
46 |
|
8 |
Lawrence |
37 |
|
9 |
Cornell |
24 |
|
10 |
Beloit |
20 |
|
11 |
Knox |
16 |
Team Previews:
Beloit Buccaneers (2012: 7-9-1 overall, 3-7-0 MWC)
Head Coach: Nick Chapman (1st season); 0-0-0 (overall) / 0-0-0 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/6
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/6
Returning All-MWC: Megan McCabe (2nd Team)
Nick Chapman takes over the Beloit program and replaces departed coach Liz Bartley who went 42-68-8 in six seasons…The Bucs have improved its win total each of last two seasons from three wins in 2010 to seven last season…Caitlin Paterson finished sixth in the league with 12 goals last season…Kirsten Takaki was one of three players to start all 17 games and scored three goals and assisted on five others…Sian Cunningham netted a pair of goals on nine shots in her freshman season…Willow Macy posted three shutouts in goal for the Bucs last season…
Carroll Pioneers (2012: 12-5-1 overall, 7-3-0 MWC)
Head Coach: Susie Foster (3rd season); 23-13-3 (overall) / 14-3-1 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 14/5
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/8
Returning All-MWC: Missy Walz (1st Team), Sarah Tennant (2nd Team), Lauren Demski (2nd Team)
Carroll missed the MWC Tournament last season for the first time since 2003…The Pioneers have three MWC Championships in the last four years and have made a NCAA Tournament appearance in four of the last six years…Carroll averaged 2.33 goals per game (fourth in MWC) and allowed only 12 goals in 18 games (fewest in MWC) last season…Eliane Sauve scored seven goals and accumulated a team-high 17 points last year…Carly Herald tied Sauve with seven goals with three of those going as game winners…Morgan Hetzel takes over in net after a freshman season where she appeared in three contests and allowed one goal in 227 minutes…
Cornell Rams (2012: 4-13-1 overall, 2-7-1 MWC)
Head Coach: Kirsten Russell (3rd season); 9-27-1 (overall) / 2-7-1 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 12/7
Starters Returning/Lost: 9/2
Returning All-MWC: Deidre Franzen (Honorable Mention)
Cornell welcomes back six players this season who started as freshmen in 2012…Deidre Franzen scored six goals and tallied 14 points including two game-winning goals last season…Chelsea Harris netted four goals and added an assist to compliment Franzen on the front line…Kassi Todryk appeared in all 18 games in net and recorded a .664 save percentage and was part of a goaltending group that led the MWC in saves per game (8.00)…The Rams return players who scored 19 of the team’s 21 goals from a season ago…
Grinnell Pioneers (2012: 7-9-1 overall, 7-3-0 MWC)
Head Coach: Heather Benning (17th season); 156-93-15 (overall) / 101-28-7 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 25/5
Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3 Lost
Returning All-MWC: None
The Pioneers have made the MWC Tournament each of the last two seasons and are in search of a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006…Patty Murphy-Geiss scored five goals and added an assist to co-lead the team in scoring last season…Dabney Hofammann was the top bench player for the Pioneers as she scored three goals and assisted on two more in 15 games played…Jordan Young is back between the pipes after holding a 1.73 goals against average and a .683 save percentage…
Illinois Col. Lady Blues (2012: 7-9-2 overall, 3-5-2 MWC)
Head Coach: Becky Golas (4th season); 13-32-8 (overall) / 3-19-6 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 15/5
Starters Returning/Lost: 10/1
Returning All-MWC: Sarah Skaggs (2nd Team)
After earning only two wins in 2010 the Lady Blues upped their win total to seven in 2012 and are in search of the school’s first ever trip to the MWC Tournament…Illinois Col. allowed only 24 goals in 18 contests last season which was the third lowest total in the conference…Sarah Skaggs led the offensive charge with 24 points (tied sixth in MWC) that included six goals and 12 assists…Skaggs’ 12 assists were most in the league…In her freshman season Bianca Savarese scored nine goals and assisted on five …The Lady Blues outscored opponents 24-8 in first half of games in 2012…
Knox Prairie Fire (2012: 3-14-0 overall, 0-10-0 MWC)
Head Coach: Melissa Joseph (3rd season); 6-27-1 (overall) / 1-17-1 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 13/4
Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3
Returning All-MWC: None
Knox goalkeepers led the league making 9.18 saves per contest which was over a save more per game than any other team in the league…Ella Petersen returns to lead the offense and help overcome the loss of leading scorer Arielle Dorman (eight goals, eight assists) after Petersen scored seven goals and assisted on two other last year…Nadia Tapfumaneyi (two goals) is the only other player coming back who scored more than one goal…Seven different players saw time in net for Knox last season but goalkeeper duties will fall to Rachael Koene who held a .719 save percentage with two shutouts…
Lake Forest Foresters (2012: 14-6-1 overall, 8-1-1 MWC)
Head Coach: T.R. Bell (17th season); 165-111-9 (overall) / 106-35-5 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 22/3
Starters Returning/Lost: 9/2
Returning All-MWC: Becky Esrock (1st Team, Defensive Player of Year), Holly Lesperance (1st Team), Michelle Greeneway (1st Team)
After a 2-4 start to the season, Lake Forest won 10 of its last 13 games. The Foresters captured a MWC Championship and also won the MWC Tournament, completing the sweep for the first time in program history…Both Becky Esrock and Holly Lesperance earned NSCAA All-North Region First Team honors last season and Esrock was also named NSCAA Third Team All-American …Lake Forest led the league in goals (58) and assists (48) and finished second in goals allowed per game (1.05)…Michelle Greeneway finished third with 40 points and scored 16 goals (fourth in MWC)…Holly Lesperance was fifth in the conference in both points (36) and goals (15)...Esrock led one of the best defensive units in the league while also scoring six goals and assisting on two others…
Lawrence Vikings (2012: 4-13-0 overall, 3-7-0 MWC)
Head Coach: Lisa Sammons (6th season); 38-51-2 (overall) / 25-20-2 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 14/3
Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3
Returning All-MWC: Keli Muchowski (2nd Team)
Lawrence has made the MWC Tournament in three of the last four seasons and aims to get back after missing the four team tournament last season…Kelly Muchowski led the team with four goals and ten points in 2012…Liza Girsova tallied five points (goal, three assists)…Kirstin Edwards was the only other Vikings player to register more than one goal as she scored four times on only 17 shots…Dani Glass takes over for departed senior Cassandra Burke after Glass had a 2.09 goals against average in 86 minutes of action…
Monmouth Fighting Scots (2012: 9-7-3 overall, 7-2-1 MWC)
Head Coach: Barry McNamara (11th season); 83-71-19 (overall) / 49-32-10 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 15/5
Starters Returning/Lost: 9/2
Returning All-MWC: Samantha Barranco (1st Team), Lauren Kellen (1st Team), Dani Gordon (2nd Team), Lauren Towler (2nd Team)
Monmouth made the MWC Tournament for the second time in the past three years in 2012 and return nearly a full starting lineup for 2013…The Fighting Scots allowed only 1.37 goals against per game (fourth in MWC)…Lauren Kellen finished third in the league with 18 goals and fourth with 38 points…Alex Ivie assisted on 10 goals which was second-best in the league…Sam Barranco finished with a 1.34 goals against average and a .795 save percentage (fourth in MWC)…After starting the 2012 season 1-4-2 the Fighting Scots finished the season winning eight of their last 12 games that included one tie…
Ripon Red Hawks (2012: 10-6-2 overall, 4-5-1 MWC)
Head Coach: Sam Schroeder (3rd season); 17-16-3 (overall) / 8-9-2 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 22/5
Starters Returning/Lost: 7/2
Returning All-MWC: Brandi Peltier (1st Team)
Ripon aims for a trip to the MWC Tournament for the first time in school history…Ripon outscored opponents 27-9 in the first half of contests…The Red Hawks scored the third-most goals in the league (46) and collected the second-most assists (40)…Brandi Peltier finished second in goals (20), points (42), and game-winning goals (six)…Sidney Blodgett posted a 1.16 goals against average and an .814 save percentage which were both third-best in the MWC…
St. Norbert Green Knights (2012: 13-4-3 overall, 7-1-2 MWC)
Head Coach: Dennis Detrie (11th season); 103-72-9 (overall) / 65-20-6 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 21/5
Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3
Returning All-MWC: Katie Vanden Avond (1st Team, Player of the Year), Zoe Kurth (1st Team)
St. Norbert advanced to the MWC Tournament title game in 2012 before falling to Lake Forest 2-0…The Green Knights last won a MWC Championship in 2011 and has made the MWC Tournament in six of the last seven years…As a team St. Norbert scored 54 goals last season and outscored opponents by 26 goals…Katie Vanden Avond finished fourth in the nation averaging 1.44 goals per game and seventh in the nation averaging 3.00 points per game…Nicole Beine and Kaitlyn Schmitz each scored five goals in 2012…Zoe Kurth headlined the defense that allowed only 1.40 goals per game while also scoring four goals and assisting on three others…
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