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Young Red Hawks Look To Improve
The Ripon women's soccer team finished the 2006 campaign by winning three of their final five games, including two of three conference matches. The Red Hawks are now hoping that momentum carries over into this season, as they look to improve their record for the second straight season.
In order to improve on last year's 5-10-1 mark, the Red Hawks will continue to build on their offensive and defensive strategies that helped them win three more games than they did the previous year. Second-year coach Chris Trudell has put the team on the right track, but it's up to them to stay there.
"The four things we need to do as a team is learn to play faster, reduce our defensive mistakes, finish our offensive opportunities, and be bigger, faster, stronger, and fitter," said Trudell.
"We need to keep the ball moving and take better advantage of our offensive opportunities, while making adjustments and personnel changes on the defensive end. We are also going to put more of an emphasis on strength and conditioning so we can try to avoid injuries and have a full squad this season."
There may be some challenges early in the season, after losing 52% of the team's scoring from last year. In addition to the five graduating seniors, the Red Hawks also had three players transfer out of the program. No player's absence will be felt more than the graduated Jill Jones, who led the Red Hawks in scoring each of the last three seasons and ranks fifth on Ripon's all-time goals scored list.
"It will be very tough to replace not only the senior leadership all five of those players brought, but also the minutes that they each played," said Trudell. "Fortunately, we have a strong returning nucleus of players that understand our system and what we are trying to do."
As with most soccer teams, Ripon may only be as good as the player protecting the net. In this case, that player is sophomore Brenda Zastrow (Wausau, Wis./East) who, after starting at goalie as a freshman, will use the experience and knowledge she has learned to protect the net once again.
"Brenda had a great season last fall and learned a lot about the position. With the experience she gained, I expect her to be a strong contender for first team all-conference goalie," said Trudell. "She is outstanding in all areas of the game and made some truly incredible saves last season. If we can play a little better defense in front of her, she will really become a force."
Defensively, the Red Hawks will be counting on junior Katie Krueger (Wrightstown, Wis./Wrightstown) and sophomore Bess Liebergen (Seymour, Wis./Seymour) to make things easier for Zastrow. In addition to playing excellent defense last season, the duo also combined for three goals and two assists.
"Both Katie and Bess are strong, smart defenders who read the game well and seldom make mistakes. I also think there are at least five or six freshmen that will have a great opportunity to start or play significant minutes," Trudell said.
On the offensive side of the ball, the team's strategy will be focused around sophomore midfielder Janel Karsten (Waukesha, Wis./South). Karsten will be asked to step up and be a leader after just one year in the program. She started 14 of Ripon's 16 games as a freshman, scoring two goals.
"Janel will need to give us a lot of quality minutes in the midfield once again. She really adapted well to what we were doing last season," said Trudell. "She is a very smart, skilled player who has a great work ethic and is a tremendous leader on the field."
As much as some of the younger players will help lead the team, one player that will be looked upon for leadership will be senior Heather Klussendorf (Wausau, Wis.), who returns to this year's team after leaving the team before last season started.
"Heather also showed tremendous promise as a defender last year before leaving the team. I'm hopeful that we will have her for a full season this year and I think she can be a really strong addition to our defensive unit."
In addition to the veteran nucleus, the Red Hawks will welcome 11 new faces this season, including nine freshmen. A couple of the newcomers are very familiar with each other, as Rachel and Jessica Martzahl (New London, Wis./New London) will join their new family, Ripon women's soccer, after playing together all their lives.
"Both of the twins will bring excellent size, speed and athleticism to our program. I've had the opportunity to coach against them at both the club and the high school level and will be really glad to have them on my team for a change. I expect both of them to contend for starting spots," Trudell said.
Tiffany Bacon (Cottage Grove, Minn.), Sarah Banister (Platteville, Wis.), and Noelia Sayavedra (Oshkosh, Wis.) are three additional freshmen that will be expected to see some playing time in their first year.
"All three of those players will contend for a starting spot somewhere on the field and we'll need all of our freshmen to adjust to the speed and physicality of college play very quickly if we are going to be as successful as I think we can be.," said Trudell. "Tiffany and Sarah are both strong midfielders, who each have excellent skills, athleticism and work ethic, while Noelia is also a very smart, strong player who isn't afraid to get after it on the field."
The incoming players, which make up nearly half of the roster, will join the 13 returnees to form a cohesive unit that will all have one goal in mind, which is to improve as the season moves on.
"We will try our best to finish in the top four in our conference and win at least half of our games. Our main goal is to continue to improve the quality of soccer we play each and every game, while also being one of the top teams academically in our conference," said Trudell. "If we stay healthy, I see no reason why we can't take the next step and qualify for the conference tournament. I think the future of the Ripon College women's soccer program looks very bright."
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