BEREA, OHIO - With 19 letterwinners and eight starters returning from last year's squad, the 2010 Baldwin-Wallace College women's soccer team will look to improve on last season's 6-12-2 record and return to Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament play in 2010.
The team is led by ninth-year Head Coach Reid Ayers, who ranks second in B-W history with 73 wins (73-67-17 overall). Last season, B-W battled injuries to several key players but still managed to earn two wins versus two NCAA Tournament qualifiers. B-W also played its first-ever televised game, a 3-0 win versus Muskingum University on October 17, which was broadcast on regional cable outlet SportsTime Ohio.
"Overall, we just have to play better soccer this season," said Ayers. "We had too many times where we couldn't dictate anything and relied on our defense to keep us in the game rather than possessing the ball and forcing teams to defend us."
Ayers' teams have earned recognition seven consecutive years for Team Academic Achievement and were awarded the Team Ethics Award of Merit by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) for the third time in four years.
The Yellow Jackets return four defensive starters, including senior captain and three-year starter Caitlin Sutter (Toledo/Sylvania Southview). Sutter has started every game the past two seasons and helped B-W to record four shutouts in 2009.
Joining Sutter in the back is senior Academic All-OAC performer Ellie Reinbrecht (Sylvania/Toledo St. Ursula), senior Vickie Dreiling (Boardman/Cardinal Mooney) and sophomore Margo Laseak (Mentor). Dreiling played mostly in the midfield last season and tallied two scores.
In the midfield, Ayers returns three student-athletes with starting experience in senior 2007 All-OAC selection Linsey Clapacs (Willoughby Hills/South), senior Academic All-OAC player Liz Rice (Wooster/Triway) and sophomore Leah Poiner (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls). Rice had one goal last season. Poiner recorded an assist and shared the team's Rookie of the Year award with Laseak.
Up top, sophomore Angie Wigton (Worthington/Worthington Christian), the team's Offensive Player of the Year, returns after scoring two goals and adding an assist last year. Junior Leanne Kasburg (Cuyahoga Falls) had two goals.
"We have a lot of question marks on the roster but I am still very excited about this group,"said Ayers. "We feel if the players perform to our expectations, this will be one of the better teams I have had in my tenure at B-W."
The Yellow Jackets also return several key players who missed significant time last season due to injury.
Junior forward Noelle Fox (Canfield) was limited to six games, but still managed three goals. In addition, Ayers returns junior Angelica Meggitt (Amherst/Steele), who scored a goal last season and has played in 33 games in two seasons.
Ayers also expects senior midfielder Amanda Vitello (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney) and sophomore Brigitte Petrash (Parma/Normandy) to bounce back strong from injuries last season.
"We lost a lot of quality players for significant stretches of the season," noted Ayers. "If we can get those players back in form, it should be a big help in terms of leadership, experience and talent."
B-W will open with seven road contests including the season-opener at Alma (Mich.) College on Wednesday, September 1 at 3:30 p.m. The Yellow Jacket home-opener is slated for Saturday, Sept. 18 versus Grove City (Pa.) College at 4:30 p.m. The Jackets open Ohio Athletic Conference play at Marietta College on Saturday, October 2 at 3:30 p.m.
"We can expect another strong season in the OAC," said the head coach. "There are no easy games in this conference which makes things fun and challenging."
FOR MORE BW SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail atkruple@bw.edu or Asst. SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu Fans can access BW athletics information at www.BWyellowjackets.com and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter athttp://twitter.com/bwathletics.
