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December 1, 2007

2007 WOMEN'S SOCCER REVIEW

Vikings finish 2007 campaign with 13-4-1 mark; Lauren Polock, Tessa Roberts, and Keri Hess earn All-CCIW first team honors; Deanna Recchia, Rachel Nerad, and Katie Oakes named to second team

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The Augustana women’s soccer team finished the 2007 season with a 13-4-1 mark under seventh year head coach Scott Mejia.  The Vikings finished 5-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, placing third behind defending national champion Wheaton and regionally ranked Carthage. 

Senior forward Tessa Roberts (St. Charles North HS, St. Charles, Ill.) was once again the team’s leading scorer, finishing with 34 points on 15 goals and four assists for the second straight year.  She had plenty of help with three other Vikings in double figures.  Sophomore forward Katie Oakes (Wheaton North HS, Wheaton, Ill.) was second on the team with 25 points.  She scored nine goals and was credited with seven assists.  Junior forward Teresa Crudele (Wheaton North HS, Winfield, Ill.) scored 20 points with finishing with nine goals and a pair of assists.  Sophomore Lauren Polock (Wheaton North HS, Wheaton, Ill.) was the fourth Viking in double figures, compiling 14 points.  She had a team high eight assists and also added three goals.

Freshman forward Amanda Muruato (Willowbrook HS, Lombard, Ill.) finished with nine points after scoring three goals and dishing out three assists.  Freshman defender/midfielder Liz Schubert (Rockford Guilford HS, Rockford, Ill.) also scored three times, finishing with six points.  Freshman defender Gina Adduci (West Chicago HS, West Chicago, Ill.) had two goals and was credited with two assists, also finishing with six points.  Freshman midfielder Rachel Nerad (Batavia HS, Batavia, Ill.) and senior midfielder Jena Lohrens (Lincoln Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) each compiled five points on the season.  Nerad had two goals and an assist while Lohrens scored once and had three assists.  Freshman defender/midfielder Lindsey Maher (West Leyden HS, Northlake, Ill.), sophomore midfielder Amanda Ramirez (Wheaton North HS, Winfield, Ill.), junior defender Katlin Garrett (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa), and sophomore goalkeeper Caitlin Johnson (Elgin St. Edward HS, Elgin, Ill.) each scored one goal, finishing with two points.  Senior forward Joann Walker (Oregon HS, Oregon, Wis.) had two points on two assists.  Freshman forward Lissa Regnier (Rockford Boylan HS, Rockford, Ill.) and senior midfielder Cristy Martinez (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) each scored one point on an assist.

Senior goalkeeper Keri Hess (Schaumburg HS, Schaumburg, Ill.) led the team with 71 saves and only allowed 14 goals.  She finished the season with a goals against average of 0.84 and played in all 18 games, compiling over 1501 minutes in net.  Johnson played over 93 minutes in three games, making two saves and allowing one goal.  Freshman goalkeeper Shanna Ewoldt (Waubonsie Valley HS, Aurora, Ill.) also played in three games, making one save and not allowing a goal in 86 minutes of action.

The Vikings opened the season on fire with an 11-0 victory over Concordia of Chicago at Ericson Field.  Roberts and Crudele each recorded a hat trick in the opener.  It was also a sign of things to come for Hess and the Augustana defense, as they combined to shut out the opposition nine times during the season.  Augustana kept up its strong offensive attack in a 5-1 home win over Coe, before hitting the road for the Luther tournament in Decorah, Iowa.  The Vikings earned a split at the three team event, defeating Maryville 2-1, but falling to the Norse by a 3-1 score.  After a double overtime 0-0 tie against UW-Platteville, Augustana picked up back to back shutout victories over Iowa Conference schools with a 1-0 home win over Wartburg and a 2-0 win at Loras.

At 5-1-1, seventh year head coach took his team to Wheaton for Augustana’s toughest test of the season against the defending national champions and number one ranked team in the nation.  In 2006, the Vikings defeated the Thunder 2-1 at Ericson Field, Augustana’s first win in school history over Wheaton in women’s soccer.  Although the 2007 contest was once again close on the scoreboard, Augustana ended up on the wrong side of a 1-0 final.  The Vikings quickly rebounded with another 11-0 win, this time racing past MacMurray.  Roberts scored four goals to lead the offensive attack and a stifling defense did not allow a single shot in the victory.

Returning to CCIW action, the Vikings rallied for a 3-2 win against North Central before dropping a heartbreaker to Carthage 1-0 in double overtime.  The team responded with a 1-0 double overtime win against Elmhurst in the next contest, as a goal by Polock helped raise the Augustana record to 8-3-1 overall and 2-2 in the CCIW.

The win over Elmhurst started a six match winning streak to finish the regular season.  The Vikings picked up CCIW wins over Illinois Wesleyan and Millikin, each by a 2-0 score, and also knocked off North Park 4-2.  Augustana won non-conference games against St. Ambrose and Central.  The team defeated its Quad City rival 2-1 in overtime and controlled the action in a 4-0 win against the Dutch.

A 5-2-0 mark in the CCIW earned Augustana the number three seed in the conference tournament.  The Vikings traveled to Carthage for a rematch of the double overtime affair earlier in the season.  Unfortunately, the Lady Reds scored early and kept Augustana off the scoreboard in a 3-0 win for the home squad.  The season ended with Augustana sporting a fine 13-4-1 overall record.

The Vikings outscored the opposition at more than a three to one clip, finishing with 51 goals while holding opponents to 15.  Augustana enjoyed a huge 27-2 scoring advantage in the first half of play.  The Vikings outshot its opponents by a significant 284-183 margin, led by 73 shots from Roberts and 47 from Oakes.  Augustana finished the season with a 87-58 advantage in corner kick attempts.

A dominating defense and a powerful offensive attack helped the Vikings to a 49-16 goal advantage for the season.  Augustana outshot its opponents 347-220 and held a 134-52 edge in corner kicks.  Hess played in all 21 games and only allowed 14 goals, a 0.72 goals against average.  She earned seven individual shutouts and made 97 saves.  Freshman goalkeeper Caitlin Johnson (Elgin St. Edward HS, Elgin, Ill.) spent parts of eight games in net.  She made 11 saves and only allowed two goals, finishing with a 0.92 goals against average. 

Head coach Scott Mejia finished his seventh season with the Vikings and has a 89-39-10 overall record and a 29-15-5 mark in the CCIW.  Mejia’s overall coaching record of 114-58-11 includes two years at Lakeland College.

CCIW Women’s Soccer Standings                                                                                                    

2007 AUGUSTANA WOMEN’S SOCCER SUPERLATIVES

CAREER TOP TEN LIST – GOALS SCORED: Tessa Roberts…2^nd with 51; Katie Oakes…8^th with 19; Teresa Crudele…9^th with 18

CAREER TOP TEN LIST – POINTS SCORED: Tessa Roberts…2^nd with 113; Katie Oakes…8^th with 51; Teresa Crudele…9^th with 45

CAREER TOP TEN LIST – ASSISTS: Lauren Polock…3^rd with 16; Katie Oakes…T-5^th with 13; Tessa Roberts…T-8^th with 11

SINGLE SEASON TOP TEN LIST – GOALS SCORED: Tessa Roberts…T-4^th with 15; Katie Oakes & Teresa Crudele…T-10^th with 9

SINGLE SEASON TOP TEN LIST – POINTS SCORED: Tessa Roberts…T-5^th with 34

SINGLE SEASON TOP TEN LIST – ASSISTS: Lauren Polock…T-1^st with 8; Katie Oakes…T-4^th with 7

NCAA DIVISION III ALL-CENTRAL REGION (D3kicks.com): Tessa Roberts, 2^nd team

CCIW ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS – Lauren Polock (1^st)…Tessa Roberts (1^st)…Keri Hess (1^st)…Deanna Recchia (2^nd)…Rachel Nerad (2^nd)…Katie Oakes (2^nd)

CCIW ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE – Keri Hess, Cristy Martinez, Jena Lohrens, Joann Walker, Darla Smith, Lindsey Maher, Amanda Murato

MOST VALUABLE OFFENSIVE PLAYER – Tessa Roberts

MOST VALUABLE DEFENSIVE PLAYER – Deanna Recchia

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER – Amanda Muruato