Scots’ Busy Non-League Season Gets Underway This Weekend

For The Week Of:
August 27, 2007

Written by Hugh Howard
330-263-2374
Email Story

Angela Evans

The College of Wooster women’s soccer team has a busy non-conference season lined up, beginning with two matches this weekend. On Saturday, Sept. 1, Wooster will play the first of an 8-match, 16-day stretch when it takes the field versus Ursuline College (6-10 in 2006) on the campus of Hiram College at 2 p.m. It will mark the first time the two schools have met on the pitch, as the Fighting Scots will look to stop a two-game losing streak in season openers. Then, Wooster will travel to long-time non-league foe Mt. Union College (6-11-1 in 2006) on Saturday, Sept. 2, at 3 p.m. The Scots and Purple Raiders have matched-up 17 times, with Wooster holding a 13-3-1 advantage, including a decisive 5-1 victory last fall.

2007 Preview Notes: Wooster heads into this year with some uncertainty. It’s not that the Fighting Scots don’t think they can compete for the North Coast Athletic Conference championship, as six starters and 12 other letterwinners return from a squad that came within a victory during last year’s regular season finale of winning the 2006 NCAC title. It’s just that there could be some significant shuffling around of player’s positions ... Offensively, the Scots lost a trio that combined for 29 of the team’s 44 goals last fall, which leaves sophomore Chantal Koechli (Greer, S.C. / Brighton – Mich.) as the top returning scorer with eight points ... On defense, Wooster welcomes back most of its key cogs, headlined by seniors Laura Ayer (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon) and Angela Evans (Worthington, Ohio / Thomas Worthington) as well as junior Kristin McCall (Portage, Mich. / Portage Northern). Ayer was selected third-team all-Great Lakes Region as a defender, while Koechli and McCall joined her on the 2006 All-NCAC Team (honorable mention) at midfield and defense, respectively. Evans earned second-team all-conference recognition as a freshman and has started every year in the backfield. Which position each of the four will play this season depends on the rest of the squad’s performers ... Potential top forwards include senior Kerry Melenovsky (Lake Orion, Mich. / Avondale) and junior Letitia Clark (West Chester, Pa. / George School) ... Complementing Koechli, who notched the majority of her six assists on corner kicks, in the midfield will likely be Sara Dresser (Sturgis, Mich. / Sturgis), who has four career goals to her credit. Additional key veteran midfielders include junior Taryn Higgins (Marblehead, Mass. / Marblehead) as well as sophomores Simone DiSalvo (Reynoldsburg, Ohio / Reynoldsburg) and Nora Simon (Lexington, Ky. / Henry Clay) ... The final line of defense features two returning starters. Junior Staci Alario (Sparta, N.J. / Blair Academy) was Wooster’s ‘keeper a season ago, producing a .760 save percentage and 1.11 GAA, while senior Kate Kiley (Dedham, Mass. / Noble and Greenough School) returns to the squad after starting 20 matches during 2004 and 2005, combining for a .840 save percentage and 0.80 GAA.