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Red Hawks Hoping To Fly Higher In 2008
Last year's Ripon College women's soccer team was one of the youngest in the Midwest Conference, which could be one reason for their eighth place conference finish in 2007. This season, they're still a young team, boasting just three seniors, but with the experience gained by last year's freshmen and sophomores, as well as the talented crop of first-year players, the Red Hawks are optimistic for what the future holds.
This year's Red Hawks will likely be one of the most athletic teams in the MWC. That athleticism will begin with their top returning scorers, sophomores Rachel and Jessica Martzahl (New London, Wis./New London), who finished last season with 11 and nine goals, respectively, ranking them both in the top 10 among conference leaders. With one year of college soccer experience under their belt, they will be expected to be even more productive this season.
"The Martzahl twins bring a very competitive attitude to the team and they hate to lose. They also have great speed and athleticism and work extremely hard," said head coach Chris Trudell. "They're the type of players you want to have on your team because you always know what you're going to get from them."
Those two will be looked upon to lead the charge on the offensive end of the field, along with junior Janel Karsten (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha South), who is arguably the most complete player on the team. She scored four goals last season, which was tied for third on the team, while also leading the Red Hawks in assists with four.
"Janel is a hard nosed player that has great determination and works very hard. She's the glue in the midfield for us and I have high expectations for what she's going to do for us this year," Trudell said.
Karsten has been named as one of the two captains on this year's team, with the other honor going to senior defender Katie Krueger (Wrightstown, Wis./Wrightstown). Krueger, who has started 45 of her 46 games in a Red Hawk uniform, will be the leader on the defensive side of the field, which could help lead to some scoring opportunities on the offensive end.
"Katie brings a great deal of leadership and sees the field very well," said Trudell. "She's a vocal leader, so she keeps us organized and does a nice job of disrupting the opponent's offense because of the way that she sees the game."
The defense will also include seniors Emily Meyer (Ripon, Wis./Ripon) and Abby Bartell (Oshkosh, Wis./Lourdes), junior Davida Smith (Lisle, Ill./Illinois Math and Science Academy), and sophomore Tiffany Bacon (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park).
"Tiffany is a solid defender that will be expected to be even better this year and will also help the team get the ball upfield," Trudell said.
A few other players that will be expected to contribute this season will be junior midfielder Laura Yunger (Sauk City, Wis./Sauk Prairie) and sophomores Noelia Sayavedra (Oshkosh, Wis./North) and Amanda Braga (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King), who recorded one goal and one assist last season, placing her sixth on Ripon's points leaders.
The last line of defense for the Red Hawks will once again be junior goalkeeper Brenda Zastrow (Wausau, Wis./East), who spent much of last season at different positions in the field. Despite being tied for third on the team in goals with four, while also adding one assist, Zastrow will once again be moved into the net as the primary goalkeeper. She played half of Ripon's games between the pipes last year, recording 68 saves, which came one year after saving 107 shots on goal.
"Brenda could play pretty much anywhere on the field, but our other goalkeepers are both freshmen. They have a lot of potential, but we may not want to start the season with a freshman goalkeeper, when we have someone with Brenda's experience," said Trudell. "As a freshman, she was one of the best goalkeepers in the conference and I think she'll probably be one of the best goalkeepers in the conference again this year."
The freshmen goalkeepers that could battle for playing time as the season wears on are Kathryn Gunderson (West Branch, Iowa/Scattergood) and Angelica Cooper (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson). All three goalkeepers on the team have talent, which is a good problem to have for the Red Hawks.
"We're pretty happy having three goalkeepers that all have some ability, and we'll just have to see how things play out and how the younger players develop as the season progresses," Trudell said.
Including the two freshman goalkeepers, the Red Hawks have 12 freshmen on the roster, including Morgan Abert (Waupaca, Wis./Waupaca), Brittany Johnson (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township), Ali Borowsky (Oxford, Penn./Oxford), and Sara Wimmer (Grayslake, Ill./North), who should all see some playing time in their first year. Sophomore transfer Alice Fehlandt (Boulder Junction, Wis./Lakeland Union) will also see her the field in her first season with the team.
"We've got a great group of freshmen coming in," said Trudell. "Abert will be a fun player to watch, and along with Brittany, will bring a lot to the table in their first year. Ali, Sara, and Alice will also be very good players."
Having a young team can both help and hurt a team, but in Ripon's case, it will only help.
"We've got a real strong group of new players that will mix nicely with our core players from last year. That will make us more competitive and more athletic, which will help our team because this year's freshmen are very talented and bring a lot of energy to the field," said Trudell. "There's always a transition going from high school to college soccer because the game happens a little bit faster and is a bit more physical, but the question is how quickly the younger players can make that transition. If they can adapt to that pretty well, I think it could be a good year for us and we should be a fun team to watch."
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