SELINSGROVE, Pa. - Second year Susquehanna University women’s soccer head coach Jim Findlay looks back on the 1999 season as a transition period. Findlay, who coached the men's squad for two seasons before coaching both teams for the first time last year, helped the Crusaders finish just under two games under .500 at 7-9, 3-4 in the Commonwealth Conference.
Findlay returns some outstanding players for the 2000 season, which is lead by three seniors and two juniors. These five players will try to help the team avoid the slow start that plagued the team last year.
“I think that this team has worked really hard in the off-season program,” said Findlay, “Last year was a year where the team was getting used to a new coach and we had our ups and downs.”
While the downs included a five-match losing streak near the end of the season that cost the team a chance at just the second winning season in the program's six-year history, the ups featured a streak of five consecutive shutout victories at midseason, including three Commonwealth Conference victories.
Findlay is optimistic about his team's prospects in 2000, and from the day his troops reported to training camp he has noticed that last year's offseason work has carried over into the current season.
“We had an excellent camp,” said Findlay. “There was a lot of intensity and enthusiasm out on the field.”
However, for effort to translate into success the Crusaders must become more proficient at putting goals on the scoreboard. The Crusaders were shut out in each of their first seven losses and tallied just 23 goals in 16 matches after posting 28 tallies in 15 matches in 1998.
Hoping to return to the form that saw her score a school-record 12 goals as a freshman is junior Kim Anderson (Allentown, Pa./Parkland H.S.). A Commonwealth Conference second-team All-Star and a member of the MAC Academic Honor Roll, Anderson led the team in both goals and scoring for a second straight year with six goals and an assist for 13 points. Anderson also has 40 points in her career, including 18 goals to rank second in both categories all-time to Kristen Riehl (22 goals and 49 points from 1994 to 1997).
Tag-teaming with her up front will be senior forward Lauren Brown (Glenelg, Md./Glenelg H.S.). Brown netted three goals last year and set a single-season record with five assists en route to 11 points, which was good enough for second on the team. Brown is the all-time assist leader at Susquehanna with 13 and is third all-time in scoring with 39 points.
In the midfield, senior Kristen Gilbert (Troy, N.Y./Tamarac H.S.) will help serve as a mentor to freshman Rachel Berson (Red Creek, N.Y./Red Creek H.S.) at center midfield. Gilbert has started all 41 games of her Crusader career and is tied for sixth on the all-time goals list with six.
They will be joined by sophomore Kristen Abernathy (Wescosville, Pa./Emmaus H.S.) on the left side and sophomore Julie Augustin (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny H.S.) on the right. Abernathy enjoyed a solid freshman campaign as she scored three goals and added four assists for 10 points in 16 games, while Augustin contributed one goal in 16 appearances, including six starts.
Back on defense, the Crusaders will rely on sophomore Christy Smith (Wenonah, N.J./Gateway Regional H.S.) to hold down the sweeper position while junior Katie Sonnefeld (Monkton, Md./Hereford H.S.) will take care of the opposition at stopper. Smith stepped right into the starting lineup as a freshman and scored one goal in 15 matches, while Sonnefeld played in 10 matches with one start and scored once.
The rest of the defense will be paced by defenders Jen Weirich (Middletown, Pa./Middletown H.S.), a junior, and freshman Lauren Haner (Glen Rock, N.J./Glen Rock). Weirich, whose younger sister Sarah is a freshman on the team, tallied an assist in 12 matches last fall.
For the second straight year, Findlay will turn to a freshman goalkeeper as the last line of defense. Last year Dorn McMahon posted a 1.49 goals against average and a program-record 182 saves along with six shutouts, but she did not return to school this fall. As a result, the goalkeeping duties will fall to Melissa Karschner (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville).
“Melissa is an excellent athlete with an outstanding work ethic,” said Findlay. “I anticipate that she will be able to step right in and pick up where Dorn left off last year.”
Findlay says the team has set two goals for the upcoming season. One of which is to return to the .500 level. The second is to challenge for one of the four playoff spots in the Commonwealth Conference.
One factor that may give the Crusaders’ postseason hopes a boost is the fact that due to the reorganization of the Middle Atlantic Conference due to NCAA Division III automatic qualifier requirements, the Commonwealth Conference will conduct a four-team tournament to determine its NCAA qualifier.
In previous years, only the top two finishers in the conference earned a berth in the MAC tournament. Now, with four teams advancing to postseason play in 2000, the Crusaders have doubled their chances of gaining a postseason berth for the first time in program history.
Findlay feels his team have caught up to the likes of Commonwealth Conference powers Elizabethtown and Messiah and feels that they will be battle for that playoff spot.
The Susquehanna University women’s soccer team is in its seventh season of competition and has made steady strides in their first few seasons.
