Women's soccer

  • 22-13-3 (.618) mark over past two seasons
  • School-record 12 wins in 2012
  • Eight-time Iowa Conference tourney qualifiers
  • 2011 squad's seven games improved rated fourth-best turnaround in Div. III

League soccer coaches tab Central women for 7th place

Women's soccer | Aug. 30, 2011

CEDAR RAPIDS—In the Iowa Conference preseason coaches’ poll, the Central College women’s soccer team is picked to finish seventh. Eight starters, 20 letterwinners and one all-league selection return for the 2011 season under first-year coach Mike Kobylinski.

The Dutch kick off the season at home Thursday, facing Grand View Univ. at 3 p.m. in the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex.

Preview by Josh Schroeder, Iowa Conference director of information:

Loras College, the 2010 Iowa Conference regular season and tournament champion, is the unanimous choice of the league’s coaches to capture the 2011 IIAC women’s soccer crown. The Duhawks, who advanced to the third round of last year’s NCAA Division III Championship, received all eight available first-place votes (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own teams) for a total of 72 points.

Wartburg College, last year’s IIAC runner-up, received the remaining first-place vote. That, coupled with five second-place votes and two third-place votes, left the Knights in second place with 63 points, while Luther College edged University of Dubuque, 55-54, for third place. The Norse picked up three second-place votes, one third-place vote and four fourth-place votes compared to the Spartans’ single second-place vote, four third-place votes and three fourth-place votes.

The complete 2011 IIAC Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Poll follows.

Rank   School (1st place votes)          Points  2010 Record
1          Loras (8)                                  72        22-1-1, 8-0-0 IIAC (24 pts.)
2          Wartburg (1)                            63        14-6-2, 7-1-0 IIAC (21 pts.)
3          Luther                                      55        10-8-1, 5-3-0 IIAC (15 pts.)
4          Dubuque                                  54        11-8-2, 6-2-0 IIAC (18 pts.)
5          Simpson                                   45        7-11-1, 3-5-0 IIAC (9 pts.)
6          Coe                                          38        6-10-2, 3-4-1 IIAC (10 pts.)
7          Central                                     25        2-13-1, 2-5-1 IIAC (7 pts.)
8          Cornell                                     23        2-14-0, 0-8-0 IIAC (0 pts.)
9          Buena Vista                             21        7-10-0, 1-7-0 IIAC (3 pts.)

New Coaches:  Kirsten Russell, is the new head coach at Cornell. She replaces Andres Leza, who will concentrate on coaching the Cornell men this season. Russell, a 2005 Luther graduate and a two-time all-conference midfielder for the Norse, was the head soccer coach at College of Notre Dame of Maryland in 2009 and 2010. Tiffany Pins takes over at Wartburg for Sara Johnson, who became the head women’s coach at Carthage. Pins, the former Tiffany Treanor, was an all-IIAC pick at Wartburg in 2004 and still holds the program’s single season record for goals with 22 during that same 2004 season. Mike Kobylinski is the new head coach at Central, replacing Colin Kuchy. Kobylinski, a 2003 Central grad, had served as executive director and director of coaching for the Little Illini Soccer Club in Champaign, Ill. since 2005. He also served as assistant women’s soccer coach at Parkland College (Ill.) in 2010.

Iowa Conference Schedule: The season opens Thursday, September 1, with six teams in action. Central hosts Grand View, Coe entertains Wisconsin-Platteville, Grinnell visits Cornell, Luther hosts St. Catherine (Minn.), Simpson opens at Nebraska Wesleyan, and Wartburg is at Augustana (Ill.). The Iowa Conference schedule opens Saturday, September 24 with a complete schedule of four games.

Conference Tournament:  The top-six teams following the regular season round-robin schedule qualify for the 2011 Iowa Conference Tournament with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. Two first-round matches will be Saturday, October 29. The semifinals will be held Wednesday, November 2, followed by the final on Saturday, November 5. All matches will be hosted by the higher seed.

Team-By-Team Preview:  A brief preview for each Iowa Conference team follows.

Buena Vista University Beavers
7-10-0 overall, 1-7-0 IIAC (3 pts.; eighth)
Head Coach (season): Tony Tommasi (2nd)
Record at School (yrs): 7-10 (1)
Career Record (yrs): 110-71-10 (9)
IIAC Titles (last):  n/a
IIAC Tourney Titles (last):  n/a
Starters returning/lost –  7 / 4
Letterwinners returning/lost –  8 / 6
All-IIAC players returning – 0
All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 2  (Reitmeier-08, Arnold) 

Buena Vista returns seven starters and eight letterwinners from last season’s 7-10 team that finished eighth in the Conference with three points and a 1-7-0 record. The Beavers return their top three scorers from a year ago. Senior forward Kelsey Reitmeier, a 2008 all-IIAC honorable mention selection, led the team in scoring with 27 points on 12 goals and three assists with three game-winners. Her 12 goals tied for second-most among all Iowa Conference players, while her point total tied for third. Sophomore forward Kellyn Arnold, an all-league honorable mention pick last season, ranked second on the team with 23 points on 10 goals and three assists with a pair of game-winning goals. Arnold led all IIAC players in shots with 96, while her goal total tied for fifth and her point total ranked eighth. In league play, notched a team-high 10 points on four points and two assists to rank eighth in the league in goals and ninth in assists. Sophomore Shelby Ripperger, a center midfielder, ranked third on the team with 15 points on five goals and five assists and scored the game-winner against Martin Luther.

Senior center back Shannon Cassady will anchor a defense that looks to improve after allowing a league-high 39 goals in league play.

Buena Vista head coach Tony Tommasi says, "[We are a] young team and young program in transition. The IIAC is a conference that is highly regarded nationally, and we hope to add, even a little bit, to that reputation. Loras College has proven to be the program to beat, but obviously you cannot take any one team for granted.”

Central College Dutch
2-13-1 overall, 2-5-1 IIAC (7 pts.; seventh)
Head Coach (season): Mike Kobylinski (1st)
Record at School (yrs): 0-0 (first year)
Career Record (yrs): same
IIAC Titles (last):  n/a
IIAC Tourney Titles (last):  n/a
Starters returning/lost –  8 / 3
Letterwinners returning/lost –  22 / 4
All-IIAC players returning – 1 (Klatt-07)
All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 0   

Central returns eight starters and 22 letterwinners from last season’s 2-13-1 team that finished seventh in the Conference with seven points and a 2-5-1 record. The Dutch will be led by senior midfielder Kristi Klatt, a 2007 all-IIAC second teamer who missed last season after suffering an injury in a preseason scrimmage. In 2009, Klatt led the team in scoring with 12 points and five goals. Klatt will be joined up front by sophomores Alayna Bailey and Hannah Davy. Bailey, a forward, led Central in scoring a year ago with three goals for six points. Davy, a midfielder/forward, took a team-high 21 shots, but failed to record a point. Sophomore defender Molly Potts will anchor the backline. Potts played in all 16 games a year ago.

Central head coach Mike Kobylinski says, “I expect our team to be disciplined in their assignments on the field and play with a desire that is contagious. As a team, we hope to be very organized and to also show that we are improving with each training session and match. We feel that our returning players have worked hard over the spring and the summer so we are hoping to improve as a team throughout the season.”

“Loras, Wartburg, Luther, and Dubuque seem to be the teams that have been at the top over the years,” Kobylinski continued. “But I think from top to bottom the conference has been getting better as well. We are hoping to compete to the best of our ability.” 

Coe College Kohawks
6-10-2 overall, 3-4-1 IIAC (10 pts.; fifth)
Head Coach (season): Homer Screws (5th)
Record at School (yrs): 20-47-4 (4)
Career Record (yrs): same
IIAC Titles (last):  2 (1998)
IIAC Tourney Titles (last):  2 (1998)
Starters returning/lost –  9 / 2
Letterwinners returning/lost –  12 / 4
All-IIAC players returning –  1 (Snook-09)
All-IIAC hon. mention returning –  1 (Reynolds)       

Coe returns nine starters and 12 letterwinners from last season’s 6-10-2 team that finished fifth in the Conference with 10 points and a 3-4-1 league mark.

Offensively, juniors Sydney Screws and junior Jenny Snook will be a strong midfield nucleus to support sophomore Courtney Rogers and junior Kaitlin Mitchell in the attack. Screws (13 points) and Snook ranked 2-3 on the team last season in scoring with Screws netting four goals and a team-high five assists. Snook posted 10 points on three goals and four assists. Rogers had two goals and two assists, while Mitchell contributed an assist.

Seniors Taylor Allen, Lindsay Screws, and Lisa Frank will anchor the defense. The trio does have some pop on offense, though, as Frank ranked fourth on the team last season with nine points on four goals and an assist and Screws scored a pair of goals.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jillian Reynolds, an honorable mention all-league pick, will prove to be invaluable as the last line of defense. She started all 18 games a year ago with a 1.25 goals-against average, 110 saves and an .827 save percentage. She ranked second among IIAC keepers in saves, third in save percentage and fifth in goals against average. In IIAC games, she posted a league-high 50 saves, ranked second in save percentage (.847), and fifth in goals-against average (1.09).

Coe head coach Homer Screws says, “We are excited for the opportunity to improve on last year’s success.” 

Cornell College Rams
2-14-0 overall, 0-8-0 IIAC (0 pts.; ninth)
Head Coach (season): Kirsten Russell (1st)
Record at School (yrs): first year
Career Record (yrs): 8-28-2 (2)
IIAC Titles (last):  n/a
IIAC Tourney Titles (last):  n/a
Starters returning/lost –  8 / 3
Letterwinners returning/lost –  12 / 4
All-IIAC players returning –  0
All-IIAC hon. mention returning –  0  

Cornell returns eight starters and 12 letterwinners from last year’s 2-14-0 team that finished ninth in the Conference with zero points and an 0-8-0 record. The Rams will be led in their final Iowa Conference campaign by a trio of seniors – midfielders Lauren Dingle and Rachel Silverstone and defender Delaney Krisel. All three are three-year letterwinners. Silverstone started 15 matches in 2010, recording one goal on four shots for two points. Dingle started all 16 matches, while Krisel started 15.

Sophomore midfielder Kendra Wisely should also play a factor on both ends of the pitch. She started 15 games last year, taking four shots.

Cornell head coach Kirsten Russell says, “With the strong, positive leadership of our senior class, I expect good things and vast improvements from last season. No team is ever to be underestimated in IIAC, and I am hopeful for a few upsets to make for an exciting fall. The IIAC continues to grow stronger, making every game a fantastic battle.”

University of Dubuque Spartans
11-8-2 overall, 6-2-0 IIAC (18 pts.; third)
Head Coach (season): Jason Berna (11th)
Record at School (yrs): 101-82-13 (10)
Career Record (yrs): same
IIAC Titles (last):  n/a
IIAC Tourney Titles (last):  1 (2009)
Starters returning/lost –  7 / 6
Letterwinners returning/lost –  n/a
All-IIAC players returning – 2 (Mobile-07-09, Watkins)
All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 0

Dubuque returns seven starters from last season’s 11-8-2 team that finished third in the league with 18 points and a 6-2-0 record. The Sophomore forward Alexandra Watkins, a first team all-Conference pick last season, will be the focal point of a Spartan offense that lost five of its top seven scorers from 2010. Watkins led the team with 27 points on a team-high 12 goals – including five game-winners – and three assists. She ranked third among all IIAC players in both points and goals and was second in game-winning goals. In eight IIAC games, Watkins recorded league highs in points (19), goals (8), and game-winning goals (3), while ranking ninth in assists (3).

Senior midfielder Maddy Mobile, a two-time all-IIAC pick, will look to control tempo for UD. She returns to the Spartans lineup after missing the majority of last season due to an injury. In 2009, Mobile scored eight points on one goal and six assists.

Defenders Gina May, a senior, and Ashley Barwick, a junior, will shoulder much of the responsibility defensively as the Spartans attempt to fill the void left by the graduation of two-time all-league netminder Natalie Baker, who posted a 1.06 goals against average and a .823 save percentage last season.

Dubuque head coach Jason Berna says, “This year’s UD team will have a very young roster with some great upperclassman leadership. We are looking forward to building off of the past success that the program has had the last few seasons. I think this year just like seasons in the past will be a fight to be at the top of the conference and to get into the IIAC playoffs.”

Loras College Duhawks
22-1-1 overall, 8-0-0 IIAC (24 pts.; champion)
Head Coach (season): Dan Rothert (14th)
Record at School (yrs): 193-71-18 (13)
Career Record (yrs): same
IIAC Titles (last): 6 (2010)
IIAC Tourney Titles (last):  6 (2010)
Starters returning/lost –  10 / 1
Letterwinners returning/lost –  21 / 5
All-IIAC players returning – 7 (Young-MVP, Kern, Chambers, Trump, Lohmeyer, Eslinger, Tumberger)
All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 1 (Schmitt)           

Loras returns ten starters and 21 letterwinners from last year’s 21-1-1 team that swept through the Conference with 24 points and an 8-0-0 record, won the IIAC tournament, and advanced to the third round of the 2010 NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship.

Of those ten returning starters, eight have earned all-IIAC or honorable mention honors, led by defending Iowa Conference women’s soccer MVP Kate Young. Young, a senior, ranked second among all IIAC players in points (33), goals (12), and assists (9), and led all players with eight game-winning goals in 24 games. In league play, she totaled 12 points on four goals and four assists to rank sixth in points and assists, and eighth in goals.

Senior Jessica Kern, a two-time first team all-league pick, returns to patrol the midfield after ranking second on the team in scoring last season with 26 points on six goals and 14 assists. She led all league players in assists and ranked fifth in points. Appearing in only seven IIAC games, Kern tied for the league lead in assists (7) and ranked seventh in points (11).

Senior goalkeeper Katie Chambers, a second team all-IIAC selection last season, played in 22 games, posting a 19-1-1 record with 13 shutouts. She surrendered only eight goals for a 0.37 goals-against average and made 59 saves for a .881 save percentage. Chambers led all IIAC goalkeepers in goals-against average, save percentage, and shutouts. In seven IIAC games, Chambers allowed only two goals for a 0.31 GAA and four shutouts. She also ranked third in the league in save percentage.

Loras head coach Dan Rothert says, “With 10 of 11 starters returning from a 21-1-1 season, we can’t help but be excited to start. That being said, we are cautiously optimistic and know the road to another conference championship will be very challenging.”

Luther College Norse
10-8-1 overall, 5-3-0 IIAC (15 pts.; fourth)
Head Coach (season): Russ Schouweiler (2nd)
Record at School (yrs): 10-8-1 (1)
Career Record (yrs): same
IIAC Titles (last):  4 (2009)
IIAC Tourney Titles (last):  2 (1998)
Starters returning/lost –  8 / 3
Letterwinners returning/lost –  19 / 3
All-IIAC players returning –  3 (Meirick, Sojka, Ledel-09)
All-IIAC hon. mention returning –  (Ofstedahl-08-09)           

Luther returns eight starters and 19 letterwinners from last season’s 10-8-1 team that finished fourth in the league with 15 points and a 5-3-0 record. The Norse effort in 2010 will center around senior midfielder and co-captain Dani Meirick, a three-time first team all-IIAC and all-region selection. Meirick ranked second on the team last season in scoring with 12 points on five goals and two assists. Three of her goals were game-winners. She enters the season ranked tenth in school history in career goals (26) and 14th in career points (66).

Joining Meirick in the midfield will be fellow senior and co-captain Paige Ofstedahl. Ofstedahl, twice named all-IIAC honorable mention, recorded nine points on two goals and five assists last season. She has played in 56 career matches starting 38 including all 19 last season.

Defender Samantha Sojka, another senior co-captain, is a two-time second team all-conference selection. She has started 45 of 53 career matches including all 19 last season when she assisted on one goal.

Luther head coach Russ Schouweiler says, "We expect that the Iowa Conference will be even more competitive than it was last year. We are looking forward to a great season and some great soccer.”

Simpson College Storm
7-11-1 overall, 3-5-0 IIAC (9 pts.; sixth)
Head Coach (season): Ryan Sander (2nd)
Record at School (yrs): 7-11-1 (1)
Career Record (yrs): same
IIAC Titles (last):  2 (2006)
IIAC Tourney Titles (last):  1 (1999)
Starters returning/lost  –  11 / 0
Letterwinners returning/lost  –  16 / 0
All-IIAC players returning  –  3 (Petersen-09, Dillenburg-08-09-10, Bird)
All-IIAC hon. mention returning  –  1 (Winegard)      

Simpson returns all eleven starters and 16 letterwinners from last season’s 7-11-1 team that placed sixth in the league with nine points and a 3-5-0 league record. The Storm will be led by a pair of all-IIAC picks from last year – midfielder Nicole Dillenburg and forward Katherine Bird. Bird, a second-teamer, led the team in scoring a year ago with 25 points on team-high totals in goals (10) and assists (5). She ranked fifth among all IIAC players in goals and sixth in points and, in league play, ranked third in goals (5), fourth in points (14), and sixth in assists (4).

Dillenburg, a three-time first-team all-league selection, ranked second on the team in scoring with 21 points on a team-high-tying 10 goals and an assist. She ranked second among IIAC players in shots (80), fifth in goals and ninth in points. In eight IIAC matches, she topped the league in shots with 34, ranked third in goals with five, and seventh in points with 11.

Junior defender Kara Lovik will help anchor the back line for the Storm. She appeared in 17 games a year ago, starting 12, and recording one goal on nine shots.

Simpson head coach Ryan Sander says, “Expectations are high here at Simpson as we graduated no seniors last season. We are bringing back six seniors and 11 juniors. We felt like we underachieved last season and are ready to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself. I think that the gap between the top and bottom tier teams is narrowing. We are looking forward to a very competitive seasons in the IIAC” 

Wartburg College Knights
14-6-2 overall, 7-1-0 IIAC (21 pts; second)
Head Coach (season): Tiffany Pins (1st)
Record at School (yrs): 0-0 (first year)
Career Record (yrs): first year
IIAC Titles (last):  1 (2008)
IIAC Tourney Titles (last):  1 (2007)
Starters returning/lost –  11 / 0
Letterwinners returning/lost –  25 / 4
All-IIAC players returning – 6 (Moore, Wendt, Frye, Macauley, Aquino, Benning)
All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 2 (Vermie, Anderson)      

Wartburg returns 25 letterwinners and all 11 starters from last season’s 14-6-2 team that placed second in the league with 21 points and a 7-1-0 record. Six all-IIAC players and two honorable mention selections are back for the Knights, including three-time first team pick Katy Wendt. Wendt, a senior forward, became just the conference’s second all-American in women’s soccer after being tabbed as a Second Team selection by the NSCAA last season. She led all IIAC players in scoring with 39 points on a league-high 15 goals and nine assists. Wendt also tied for second among league players in assists and game-winning goals (5). Playing in just seven IIAC matches, she led the league in assists (7) and ranked second in shots (31) and points (17) and third in goals (5).

Wendt will be joined up front by fellow senior Chelsea Frye, another three-time all-league pick. Frye tied for second on the team with 14 points, scoring six goals and assisting on two others with two game-winning goals. Senior Jess Macauley leads the charge in the midfield. Macauley, a two-time all-IIAC selection, played in all 22 games last season, finishing with eight points on two goals and four assists.

On the defensive end, senior Mackenzie Moore is another two-time all-league selection for the Knights. Moore will help anchor a defense that allowed 22 goals in 22 games last season.

Wartburg head coach Tiffany Pins says, “We are excited for a competitive conference schedule.”

  

Central College