Season Wrap-Up

This season SUWS had to face a lot of adversity and managed to accomplish many goals. Losing key players to injuries meant that other players on the team had to step up. In the MAC we have made back to back conference championship game appearances. We lost to Messiah 1-0 in a very close game and continued on to make it to the ECAC South Championship for the third year in a row. We had six players receive All Conference Awards and we received the NSCAA Team Academic Award for having a combined GPA of 3.41. 

As we near the end of the semester we also begin to look forward to our Spring Season and our preparation for Fall 2014. With goals of a MAC Conference Championship and an NCAA appearance, we will work hard over the next 8 months! 

Happy Holidays and Go Mustangs!

Fun Times for SUWS

The last few weeks have been very eventful for SUWS. We have had team building activities, Senior Day, a Halloween practice and finished the last part of our regular season with three wins to secure the number 3 rank in the final conference standings. We will travel to Elizabethtown this Thursday (11/11) to play in the conference semi-finals at 4:30pm.

This is a picture from Senior Day of our 6 lovely ladies who have had a successful 4 years with SU!

 

This picture is of a few of our Halloween Practice participants! Minnie Mouse, a ninja, a toucan, some seniors dressed as the coaching staff, a rapper, and a dodgeball player were all in attendance.

 

 

 

Senior Interviews!

The past few weeks we have had some ups and downs as a team. With under 3 weeks left in our regular season, we have asked a lot of our upperclassmen when it comes to being leaders on and off the field. Recently, they answered a few questions for our blog to give insight into their life as a SU Women's Soccer Player.

1. What has been your favorite moment from the season so far?

Shannon McGuire: "My favorite moment was the second goal at the Johns Hopkins.  It felt really good to come out and send a message.  We scored a goal, they answered us and I'm sure they thought it was over, but we answered them right back.  It was a great feeling."

Mandy Marston: "Personally my favorite moment was getting cleared to play again! For the first six games I cheered loud from the sideline, but nothing was sweeter than getting to step on the field for the first time as a senior. As a team however, my favorite moment was the Hopkins game. There was just something about that game that was different and exciting. It was a great game to be at, there was a certain energy that was present among the team."

2. How has being a student athlete at Stevenson prepared you for life after college?

Mackenzie Calhoun: "It has improved my time management skills and given me motivation to push myself to do my best in everything that I do."

Alexa Narron: "I enjoy working on a team and being in groups because of soccer. I also have learned not to give up and to push through any tough situation, which will benefit me outside of college. If I have a bad game or make a bad play, I tell myself to focus, get over it, and push harder and believe that I can do better. This mindset will benefit me in the real world. I also have great time management and know how to prioritize my time between class, homework, practice, and games. I have learned that hard work can get you far, and I show that on the field as well as in the classroom."

3. What would your teammates say is your best quality?

Alexa Narron: "I think my teammates would say my best quality is my consistency and hard work rate. I don't complain or talk back, and I try to take what the coaches say and use it to make myself a better player. I am also fun and enjoy a good laugh!!!"

Mandy Marston: "I would have to go with three: my weirdness. my awkwardness. and my sense of humor. I'm the total package."

4. What is your pre-game ritual? Any superstitions?

Shannon McGuire: "My pregame ritual includes listening to my pregame playlist on my ipod and playing solitare.  I have to win before our bus gets their or win a game of solitaire before we start warming up.  It gets me focused and I'm also very superstitious about it.  also have to put my left cleat on before my right and I wear my hair the same way for every game."

Mandy Marston: "Before every game I listen to the "perfect" speech from Friday Night Lights, it gets me pumped up. I have some songs that I listen to also but they are weird so I keep them to myself. And as far as superstitions, always right sock on before left sock and right shoe on before left shoe."

5. Who is your favorite professional athlete and why?

Alexa Narron: "My favorite professional athlete would have to be Abby Wambach. Her drive and hunger to win is incredible. She is one of the hardest workers out there, and sacrifices her body to win almost every head ball in the box (wish I could do that). She goes in hard on every play and pushes herself every minute she's on the field. She is also a great leader and communicator. Every time I've seen her play she is very loud and is always trying to pump up her teammates. I look up to her and wish I could be like her."

Shannon McGuire: " My favorite professional athlete is Abby Wambach.  She's an unreal soccer player, but she has am even better personality.  I got the fortune of playing with her a couple years ago over the summer for a couple days and she was awesome.  She's funny and she still remains humble after all of her success and works for more."

6. What advice would you offer to underclassmen or freshmen?

Mackenzie Calhoun: "Don't be intimidated by other players or the game itself. Everyone who is on the team obviously has the skill to be there, so play confident. Also, don't forget about your passion for the sport and to have fun."

Mandy Marston: "Cherish every moment of this.  It only lasts four years and it's over and it sure does go by fast. Take nothing for granted. Live in the moment and never wish it was over because before you know it, it will be. The memories I have made with my soccer family are some of my favorite and funniest ones."

Player Interviews

This past week we picked up two solid wins over a much improved Catholic University team and Frostburg State University. We scored a total of 5 goals between the two games and Freshman Goalie Annie McCoach posted two shut outs. We host old CAC rival Salisbury this coming Wednesday night under the lights at 7pm and travel to St.Mary's on Sunday. This week we feature interviews with freshman/transfer Jordan Porretto and junior Gabby Kuhar. Jordan Porretto: 1. How do you think you can impact the team this season on and off the field? "I'm going to keep working my hardest to help the team be successful on the field and keep a positive up beat attitude." 2. What has been your favorite moment of the season so far this year? "My favorite moment of the season so far was the first weekend of season when we had back to back wins against Eastern and Haverford. It felt awesome to start off my college soccer career with two great team wins against ranked teams." 3. What song gets you pumped up before a game? "I don't really have a favorite, but I like anything that I can dance to (in the locker room)." 4. What is a strength that our team has that sets us apart? "Our ability to move the ball quickly and to feet is really great. Also, our willingness to not give up when things don't always go our is a major part of our game that lets us compete with any team out there. " 5. What would you like to work on as a player to better yourself over this season? "My fitness can always be better and pushing up more in the midfield when we are on transition to help the offense." 6. What is your favorite aspect of Stevenson University? "My favorite aspect of Stevenson University is being a part of the team. I think we all get along really well and it makes my experience at Stevenson a lot more fun being able to play and hangout with them all the time." Gabby Kuhar: 1. How do you think you can impact the team this season on and off the field? "I think I can impact the team this season on and off the field by always giving 100% whether it is practice or a game and staying positive and making people happy." 2. What has been your favorite moment of the season so far this year? "So far this season, my favorite moment was when we scored in the last two minutes of the William Patterson game and we came out with a win because we didn't stop playing or give up." 3. What song gets you pumped up before a game? "Before the game I like to listen to whatever is playing on Lacey's iPod in the locker room because she has the best songs ever. If we are traveling I just listen to the 8tracks app on my phone which has a pre-game pump up station and it always gets me ready for a game. " 4. What is a strength that our team has that sets us apart? "I think the strength that our team has that sets us apart is heart. We want it so bad and if we go down a goal we don't put our heads down and accept that we are losing. We fight until the last second of the game and give 110% until we come out with a win." 5. What would you like to work on as a player to better yourself over this season? "As a player I would like to work on my communication. Each year I have improved on something and I think talking on the field is something that could turn me into a totally different player and overall benefit the whole team when it comes to games." 6. What is your favorite aspect of Stevenson University? "My favorite aspect of Stevenson University is that it is very goal oriented and you are almost guaranteed a good career path when you graduate."

2013 SEASON

After two weeks of preparation, we are looking forward to travelling to Haverford on Saturday. We open with Eastern University Saturday at 4pm at Haverford and then face Haverford Sunday at 1pm. Our squad is composed of 23 returners and 10 new players. The 23 returners will bring us maturity and composure on the field this year while the new players will give us a spark of energy. Our pre-season showed just how talented our team is and we know we can be extrememly successful in the next three months. We were fortunate enough to meet with the President of our University, Dr. Manning, yesterday before practice. He is, of course, a huge Women's Soccer Fan and believes in our team. Dr. Manning helps instill in all Mustang Athletes the confidence that it takes to go to the next level. After an exciting trip to Scotland and England and a pre-season filled with bonding opportunities like field day and Zumba, the team is united and ready to make a statement. This season on the blog we will feature player profiles as well as player interviews! Next week: Junior Defender Gabby Kuhar and Sophomore (Transfer) Midfielder Jordan Porretto.

SUWS International Trip....London Baby!!!!

This posting has been a little delayed by internet issues overseas.

So here is a quick update of our trip to date....

Last Wednesday we set off on a journey of a lifetime as a team ready to enjoy the sights of Scotland and England...

As you can see the flight was a good time!!!!

First practice in the London soccer dome to shake off the weary legs.

Great day sightseeing in London, Cat asked the question does anyone live here????? haha

What's that in the background???

Our first game was against Millwall.....played well for first 30 minutes but then Millwall took over ending in a tough first loss.

So after three days in London, we had seen the sights of the capital city of England including Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, changing of the guard, Piccadilly Circus, Houses of Parliament, Downing Street and played a game and watched a professional game at Craven Cottage. The team had an amazing time and now we are off to the see the wonders of Scotland....more to follow!

2013 Spring Season!

Here at Stevenson, we are really excited about the warm weather and our spring season! On April 13th we are playing Bucknell University and Towson University on Towson's game field for our Spring Play Date. These are both NCAA Division I programs that we are confident we can compete with and will give us a great indication of where we are going into the summer. Our ladies have been working out and playing indoor and they are excited about getting back on the pitch! Before the end of the semester, we will give the girls a summer training program to get them in tip-top shape before we head to Scotland and England in August! This is another exciting event that we have to look forward to. We will play three games while we are oversees and then return just in time to move in and start pre-season. This will be a great bonding experience for the team and an adventure that they will remember forever! While we are in Scotland, Graeme will get to show us around his hometown and we will get to meet his mom!

This is an exciting time for Stevenson Women's Soccer and we are looking forward to all the things to come in the next few months! Make sure to check out our Fall 2013 schedule as we start off with a very competitive field of teams. Happy Spring!

Great end to our season!

The last few weeks have been exciting for the Mustangs! We beat Elizabethtown in the conference semi-finals in PK's. Allison Johnson saved three penalty kicks to help us advance to the conference finals versus Messiah. After a long, hard game on Friday night we headed to Messiah Sunday for the conference championship. While we came up short, we were still happy to have made it that far our first year in the MAC.

Unfortunately, we missed out on an at large bid to the NCAA tournament but we were the number 1 seed in the ECAC South bracket. We hosted Saint Vincent on Wednesday in the first round and defeated them 4-0 to move on to the semi finals. Although we were the first seed, we were unable to host and travelled to Swarthmore on Saturday to face Lebanon Valley again. The first time we played LVC we fought back from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1. We played one of our best games on the season and won 2-0. Host school Swarthmore lost to Wilkes in penalty kicks which meant Sunday we would play Wilkes for the championship. We went down 1-0 in the first half versus Wilkes and we fought back to tie it off a Jamie Matlock goal. In the first overtime we got a corner and Shannon McGuire found Kayla Curry's head to end the game. Kayla and Taylor Zimmerman were able to end their stellar career at Stevenson University with an ECAC championship. Kayla Curry was also named tournament MVP.

The Mustangs had 7 players make All-Conference teams. Allison Johnson and Allie Ondrecjak represented the Mustangs on the first team, Jennifer Simkin, Taylor Zimmerman, Jamie Matlock, and Mackenzie Calhoun made second team, while Meaghan Williams was named to honorable mention.

We had a very successful year and we are looking forward to our spring season!

PLAY OFFS!

This week we moved up in the Regional Rankings to number 5! This is the last time rankings will be posted before the NCAA tournament field is announced! Friday night we host Elizabethtown in the MAC semi-finals at 7:30pm. The last time we met was October 16 and we battled 110 minutes to a 1-1 tie. Since the tie with E-Town, we have found the back of the net 15 times in 3 games. And after our loss to Messiah on September 29th, we have gone on an 8 game streak with out losing. We feel that we are ready to take on E-Town and advance to the conference championship!

If you are in the area, we would love to see you in the stands Friday night! This is a huge game and the more support from our friends and family, the better it will be!

Strong Conference Play

This week we host our last two regular season games in the MAC. Wednesday we play Hood at 7pm and on Saturday we have Alvernia at 1pm. Over the last few weeks, we have accomplished a lot as a team. Every Monday we set goals for the defenders, midfielders, forwards, and overall team. This helps us to gauge ourselves in ways other than just wins and losses. It also helps us to focus on areas that need improving and to keep getting better week after week.

At the beginning of the season we set goals for statistics during each game. A few of these include greater than 50% of our shots being on goal, not giving away more than 2 corner kicks, and aiming for shut outs each game. We keep these on a board in our locker room so that we know what we need to achieve to help win every game. These have also helped us realize that we can accomplish all of our goals and we have the capability to do amazing things with SU Soccer!

The first week in the MAC we had the conference offensive player of the week with Jamie Matlock and twice this month goalie Allison Johnson has represented Stevenson with defensive player of the week. Allie, a freshman from New Jersey, leads the conference in save percentages and goals against average. We have also climbed up to number 6 in the MidAtlantic Regional rankings.
http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/soccer-women/d3/regional_rankings
We are energized and ready to take on the rest of the MAC and continue into post season play!

2012 Mustangs

With our season half way over SU Women's Soccer is 1-1 in the MAC and 7-4 overall. After a solid start to the season we had a rough week losing to then ranked number 6 in the country, Johns Hopkins and regionally ranked Rowan. We bounced back with 2 wins against Catholic and an undefeated Frostburg State. The following week proved to be a tough one for us as well with an overtime loss in the 110th minute to Salisbury off a PK and a loss to defending National Champions Messiah. However, we are off to a solid start for this week and the rest of conference play. Winning 2-1 over Lebanon Valley gave us the spark we need to continue being successful for the rest of our season.
We have accomplished so much this season already! 17 players have tallied points for the Mustangs with a total of 13 players scoring goals! Jamie Matlock was conference Player of the Week our first week of the season and also our first in the MAC. Matlock’s goal against Frostburg was her 9th game winner and 17th career goal.
This year our team is determined to fight for a spot in the NCAA tournament. With a strong schedule and solid conference we are competing with some of the best teams in the country. We are a talented team that believe in ourselves and our ability and will continue working until we meet all of our goals!

Baltimore Child Abuse Center

Our 2011 season was dedicated to the BCAC (Balimore Child Abuse Center). The girls wore blue shoelaces and wrote BCAC on their wrists each game to remind them who they were playing for. Now that the season is finished, the grand total of money the girls earned for this wonderful cause is $3,048. It is estimated that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 7 boys will be sexually abused in their lifetime making this an extremley important cause that the girls wanted to pursue. Along with raising this money, every week the players took turns going to the center to play with children, clean the center, organize paperwork or whatever the center needed that particular day. Jennifer Noparstak, MSW, Director of Development for the BCAC said "We are so appreciative of the Stevenson University women's soccer team's help throughout their 2011 season, in addition to assisting BCAC in raising awareness and funds, the players are volunteering their time weekly, spending a few hours with children at the Center and providing them a sense of security and caring." I am so very proud of my girls. Senior and Junior Captains Stephanie Eyler and Taylor Zimmerman came up with this idea completely on their own, organized everything and truly did our community a service.

Road to ECAC's

With our strength of schedule and winning record we were certain our season was not over. We took the weekend off to mourn our loss and then got immediately back into the swing of soccer having a couple fun, hard working practices. Turns out we were ONE TEAM AWAY from getting a bid to NCAA's however since we did not get in to the NCAA's we were asked to compete in the ECAC's. We were the second seed in this tournament meaning Neumann traveled to us. The girls took care of business scoring 7 goals (frustration from not scoring enough against St. Mary's I'm sure)! Then we traveled to Frostburg where we won an intense battle against a future MAC rival Albright. It was an extremely physical game that we ended up winning 1 -0. We stayed overnight in a hotel where the girls had way to much fun competing in Graeme's "Pub Quiz" (which he stayed up until 2 am creating the world's hardest trivia questions). Dinner was delicious and everyone was in excellent spirits as they sang their way onto the field Sunday for the Championship game. Story of our lives however, we dominate, out shoot, and lose. We outshot Frostburg 21 - 14 and had 5 corner kicks to 0. We hit the cross bar THREE TIMES and just could not catch a break. They scored a beauty in the first half, and if you can't finish you can't win so we ended our season with a 1-0 loss. Again, we were extremely proud of ourselves and we walked away knowing if we get better at finishing our opportunities we are UNSTOPPABLE.

CAC Let Down.

Unfortunately we lost a tough CAC semi-final game against St. Marys. Both teams fought hard and St. Mary's was able to capitalize to take the win. They are exceptionally well in transition and we broke down defensively twice letting them score 2 goals. They scored first early into the game and Jamie Matlock scored before the half taking us into the locker room tied at 1-1. We had 27 shots on goal and only score once, almost unbelievable. They had 7 shots on goal and finished 2. Heartbreaking as it is, that is the game of soccer that we love so much. St. Mary's went to Salisbury and lost in OT. Making Salisbury the CAC Champs. Much to our disappointment, we let our repeat championship slip away. However, all in all the girls did have an excellent and extremely fun season and I am very proud of their work both on and off the field.

Perfect Ending to Regular Season Games

The early loss to York and Tie with Frostburg didn't have us sitting to comfortably in our CAC bracket. However, complete focus and determination is the only way to describe the way we have finished our regular season play. Salisbury came here without a conference loss and we did what we had to do. It was a battle from start to finish. We dominated in the first half, Stephanie Eyeler did what she does best and finished a beautiful volley from Mandy Marston giving us the 1-0 edge. The rest of the game we all were on the edge of our seats. Salisbury was in a little better shape then us as they have lots of speed. They had a couple close chances in the second half, but our defense stood strong leading us to victory.

Traveling to Mary Wash was fun. The girls rented movies from Blue-Box which made the trip fly by. They also continued to play as if they knew they should win. 2-0 was the result. We needed Salisbury to lose or tie to give us the regular season Champions award, and it looked like it was going to happen. We followed stats on the bus ride home as Salisbury and St. Mary's entered OT. Salisbury pulled it out in the end, finishing in first with us a close second. Now we both have 1st round byes for the playoffs and will hopefully meet again in the Championship!

GOALS GOALS GOALS

We have scored 12 goals in our last 2 games! I can't believe how well we are playing. The Marymount parents were telling us that we were the best team they have played all year. We were truly on our game. The passing was phenominal, finishing superb, and communication excellent. We beat Wesley 5-1 on a gross rainy day in Delaware and Marymount 7-1 here under the lights on our new turff. I really think we are peaking at just the right time. Against Marymout we scored 5 goals in under 8 minutes, talk about a great run. Five different players scored. These were two very big wins for us as they have the girls confidence soaring. Next week we will have two extremely challenging games against Undefeated in-conference Salisbury and Mary-Wash. We can not afford to tie or lose either game if we want to have a first round bid in the playoffs.

Conference Wins!

Since defeating Muhlenburg the girls have decided they love to score. A non conference game against McDaniel set the tone as we stormed through winning 4-0. Then came Hood College, another 4-0 win. As we traveled to St. Mary's for the second conference game of the week the girls were focused. They knew how important it was for us to win this game. That early loss to York really woke us up and made us realize we could not lose this game. The girls got the job done burying their opportunities on goal. We won 3-0 in a game that was pretty hard fought. I was so proud and impressed with their shooting. All week we focused on 1 v 1s and 3 v 3s to big goals and I guess we fell in love with the back of the net!

Steph Setting Records!

Our very own Stephanie Eyler broke the Capital Athletic Conference's career goals-scored record when she scored her third goal against Hood college. Her first 2 years here at Stevenson she scored 43 goals. Last summer she broke her foot and had an extremely frustrating junior season. Even though frustrating for her still meant scoring 6 goals and winning the CAC Championship. The record was previously held by Sara Weaver with 54 career goals. And now with at least 8 games remaining in her career Steph has already beaten this number. Let's see how many she can get!

Back in the Regional Rankings- #8

Samantha Novy started us off beautifully scoring off Meaghan Williams Corner Kick just 3 minutes into the game. Jamie Matlock also gave us some room to breathe scoring a left footed rocket off a beautiful ball from her roommate Mandy Marston. They had 2 1 v1's vs our keeper Britt Ross who made both point blank saves keeping us in the lead. They were able to score right before halftime off a beautiful free kick right outside the box that none of us thought was a foul. Second half we both held scoreless and the win shot us back into the Regional rankings where we now sit at #8. Senior Keeper Brittany Ross was rewarded for her excellent saves being honored CAC Player of the week for her 5th time in her career.

Huge Conference Game

Last season we played Frostburg in the CAC Championship so we knew this was going to be a battle. They wanted revenge and we were still upset about our first conference loss to York. We took the 3 hour bus ride up to Frostburg and had everyone in a great mood as we watched "Bridesmaids" for the trip. The movie was hilarious! Both teams came out well, Britt Ross our keeper made some excellent saves as did their goalie. The day ended in a 0-0 tie after double overtime and 120 minutes of play. We outshot them 23-12 and were very unlucky hitting the cross bar twice, having two shots skim just over the goal and then with 30 seconds left in the last over time we got a corner kick. Catherine Madden connects a volley that beats the keeper and we were all sure it was a goal. But one of their defenders was in the perfect position and was able to clear the ball out before it crossed the line. A win would have been sweet but the tie was fine as we knew how well we had played.