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Kelly Spencer and Kelsey Kovar chase down a ball at practice |
The Doane College women's soccer program took a step in the right direction last season under first-year Head Coach Duane Johnson. The Tigers posted an 8-8-3 record during the 2007 campaign, topping their win total from the previous two years combined. Doane qualified for the NAIA Region III tournament for the first time, falling to Dana College, 1-0, in the quarterfinal round. What will the Tigers do for an encore this season? If the Tigers can find a consistent offensive output and continue to improve defensively, the Tigers will have an opportunity to qualify for the national championships through the conference due to a change at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) office. The NAIA eliminated regional tournament qualifying.
The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) will send two teams to the national tournament, the regular-season champion and the conference tournament champion. If the two champions are the same, the post-season runner-up will advance to the national tournament as well.
For the team to be successful in 2008, maturity will be a factor as the returning players have at least a year of experience.
"For our team to be successful, I believe we need to be more composed and play better under duress," Johnson said. "I thought last season there were times in a few games where we played somewhat out of control and did not handle adversity well."
Seventeen Players Make up 2008 Squad
For the Tigers to take the next step forward, they will need to find someone to help in the scoring department. Sophomore Samantha Exstrom (Lincoln, Neb.) set a freshman record last year with 20 goals and earned NAIA All-American honors. However, she scored twice as many goals as the rest of the team. Doane was also shutout on eight occasions last year, going 0-6-2 in those match-ups, and finished the year with four consecutive scoreless games.
Doane will rely on Exstrom to carry the offense after she posted two four-goal games last year while collecting five game-winning goals. The Tigers' second-leading scorer was Anna Farlow, a 2008 graduate. That leaves six goals between five players, all primarily midfielders.
"Last season, being a young team, we didn't know who would be our team's offensive player," Coach Johnson said. "As our season progressed, Samantha provided a lot of excitement to our offense. We will certainly be looking for her again this season, however, so will our opponents. Therefore, it is very critical that other players play well for our team to be successful."
Sophomores Jordan Hedgecock (North Platte, Neb.) and Heather Clymer (Lincoln, Neb.) collected seven points each last year. Hedgecock posted two goals and three assists while Clymer notched one goal and had a team-high five assists.
Sophomore Beth Weiner (Seward, Neb.) and junior Kelsey Kovar (Schuyler, Neb.) collected one goal a piece. Kovar notched six goals a year ago and a return to that offensive output would help the Tigers.
Junior Emma Kucera (Lincoln, Neb.) posted four assists on the season while fellow junior Jaime Duggan (Grand Island, Neb.) played in 17 games for the Tigers.
Doane's lone senior is midfielder Kelly Spencer (Bellvue, Colo.). Spencer notched a goal and two assists last season while earning NAIA and GPAC Scholar-Athlete honors. She scored her lone goal of the season in a win over Dordt College while picking up her assists against Briar Cliff University and Dakota Wesleyan University, all GPAC schools.
The Tiger defense was solid last season as the team posted a 1.60 goals against average. Leading the way on defense is junior Jayne Wagner (Fort Collins, Colo.) along with sophomores Kelsey Bryant (Lincoln, Neb.) and Erin Danahay (Lincoln, Neb.).
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Bridget Koehler plays a header during practice |
Wagner has become a defensive enforcer for the Tigers, not afraid to get physical in order to protect her net. She also notched two assists last year. Bryant earned Second Team All-Conference honors from the Tiger's sweeper position. Danahay received honorable mention honors as she anchored the Tiger's left side defense.
Junior Bridget Koehler (Windsor, Colo.) saw action in 10 games and her experience will be relied on this season.
"Last season we started three freshmen and a sophomore defensively," said Coach Johnson. "I really thought our defense improved from game to game. Kelsey anchored a defense that I believe is the strength of our team."
The Tiger's netminder is junior Alicia Exstrom (Lincoln, Neb.). Exstrom will begin her third season in net as she moves up the school record books. She currently holds the school record for career goals against average (GAA), a number that changes with each game. Exstrom posted a 1.61 GAA last year while collecting 111 saves. She received All-Nebraska honors for the second year in a row.
Beth Weiner serves as Exstrom's backup and started one game last year, allowing two goals and picking up six saves.
Doane will bring in four recruits who are expected to contribute throughout the year. Papillion-LaVista South products Katie Hubenka and Clare Koeppe will be joined by Bellevue East graduate Kayleen Stanek and Sarah Medina of Coronado High School (Colo.).
Coach Johnson also expects depth to be a factor in the team's potential for success this year. He plans to utilize the bench more this season in order to rest starters not only throughout a game but through the season.
"I believe for our team to be successful this season we need to substitute more," Coach Johnson remarked. "Therefore, our bench players need to improve and be able to contribute. With the addition of our incoming freshman class, I will rely on them and our returners to receive more playing time, which subsequently would provide breaks for personnel who start. Last season I relied too much on the starters and did not give them an opportunity to rest during the games."
Non-Conference Schedule to Prepare Tigers
The road will not be easy as the schedule continues to be tough. The Tigers open the year in the northwestern corner of the United States. Doane will face Evergreen State College in Washington and Warner Pacific College in Oregon. ESC is 2-0 all-time against the Tigers while WPC and Doane have not met in the past.
Doane will have their hands full in the home opener as William Jewell comes to town. The Cardinals are 2-1 against Doane, winning the last two meetings by a combined score of 20-0. WJC finished the 2007 season ranked No. 10 in the NAIA and earned a No. 6 seed at the NAIA National Tournament. The Cardinals were upset by No. 11 seed Northwood University 2-1 in the second round of play.
A trip to Kansas City will see the Tigers take on Avila University for the first time since 2000 and Ottawa University for the first time since 2002. The Tigers are 1-3 all-time versus Avila and have lost three straight while holding a 2-1 advantage on the Braves of Ottawa. Doane has won the last two meetings with the Braves by a combined score of 16-4 but records can probably be thrown out in the weekend trip since none of the players have faced each other.
The non-conference slate wraps up at home with a match up with the Bluejays from Tabor College, the first meeting between the two programs.
Always Tough in the GPAC
The conference schedule speaks for itself nine of the Tigers' 12 games last year were decided by two goals or less. Doane went 3-0 in games decided by three or more goals.
Two GPAC games that carry the most significance are rivalry games versus Hastings College and Nebraska Wesleyan University. The Broncos are 16-2 all-time versus Doane but the Tigers have been on the cusp of knocking them off in each of the past three years. Hastings has won the last three meetings, 1-0. Doane has never beaten Nebraska Wesleyan as they are 0-12-1, the lone tie coming in 2004.
Other games of significance in the conference are the four Doane games that went into overtime last year. The Tigers were 2-0-2 in GPAC overtime games, collecting game-winning goals from Samantha Exstrom against Concordia University and Dordt College.
A pair of ties against two of the top teams in the GPAC - Morningside College and Midland Lutheran College - will have those schools looking for a little of revenge, as they came to Crete expecting wins a year ago. Morningside may have this game circled on their calendar as the Tigers were the only team to put a scratch into the Mustangs run at perfection a year ago.