Women's Soccer Opens Sunday

RFH 2010, Colgate Sports

Thu, Aug 18, 2011

The Colgate women's soccer team will open the 2011 season this weekend when it hosts Vermont on Sunday, at 1 p.m. on Van Doren Field. This will be the 23rd meeting between the two teams, with the Raiders leading the series 15-5-3. The last meeting between the two teams was in the 2010 season when Colgate defeated the Catamounts 2-0 in Burlington, VT.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
The team, which was picked to finish second in the Patriot League Preseason Poll behind Army, returns eight of its 11 starters and 19 letterwinners to the team, while adding five newcomers.

The team returns its point leaders to its forward line with juniors Jillian Kinter and Alyssa Manoogian, who both completed the 2010 season with a team-high 13 points each. Kinter, who was named to the All-Patriot League First Team, led the team in scoring with six goals and one assist while Manoogian, a second team selection, had four goals and a team-best five assists. New to the attack this season will be TopDrawer 4-Star Player, Jenna Raepple.

The midfield will be the most experienced group this season, returning all of its starters from last season. Leading the way will be senior co-captain Maddie Malone and junior Elise Amioka. Malone, who finished the 2010 season tied at third with six points from one goal and four assists, played and started in all 19 games last season while Amioka played and started in 17 games. The Raiders also return sophomores Kelsey Hough and Klara Jenkins who both saw significant playing time in 2010. This season, the team adds three players to the midfield with TopDrawer Soccer Top-60 recruit, Caroline Brawner, TopDrawer Top-100 recruit, Jenna Gibney, and TopDrawer 4-Star player and sister to forward Alyssa, Emily Manoogian.

At defense the team is led by senior co-captain, Danielle Wessler and sophomore Christy Patterson. Wessler, who has also seen playing time on the forward line and finished the season with one goal and one assist, played in all 19 games and started in 18 while Patterson had one goal in the season and was one of six players on the team to start in all 19 games. The team also welcomes back junior Sarah Henderson who brings a lot of experience to the back line. The Colgate defense adds Chelsea Roche to its line, who was named to the 2010 All-State and All-New England All-Star teams.

In goal the team also returns junior co-captain Ashley Walsh and sophomore Emma Giegerich. Walsh, who started in 11 games last season, received the BRINE Goalkeeper of the Week and ECAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 21, while Giegerich, who walked onto the team last season, was named the BRINE Rookie of the Week on Oct. 11.

SCOUTING VERMONT
The team returns two of its top three scorers and point leaders with sophomore Haley Marks and senior Emily Milbank. Marks led the team with five goals and one assist for 11 points while Milbank ended the season with five points from two goals and one assist.

The Catamounts, who were picked to finish ninth in the America East Conference preseason poll, returns 19 letterwinners and adds seven newcomers to the program.