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2004 TU Women's Soccer Outlook
8/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 12, 2004
A new era begins for the Tulsa women's soccer program in 2004. The Golden Hurricane begins its first season under Head Coach Rena Richardson and will attempt to post its first winning season since the 2000 campaign.
TU returns 11 letterwinners, including six starters, from the 2003 season, and welcomes 13 newcomers, which gives the Hurricane one of the largest recruiting classes in school history. The 13-member class includes 12 true freshmen and one junior transfer.
One of the first orders of business for the Golden Hurricane is meshing the newcomers with the returners. Tulsa's strength this season will be its defense.
If Tulsa is to rebound from a 5-12-1 record a year ago, TU must develop its attack and make goal scoring a priority. The defensive end of the field is the one area of the team with the greatest number of returners, so Richardson was able to successfully implement her new system during the spring season.
As always, Tulsa has long-range goals of a conference title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, but Richardson knows the Hurricane must achieve its short-range goals first.
"Our most important goals is for us to be competitive against every opponent by creating a solid attack," Richardson said. "We want to play well during non-conference season and that should set us up for Western Athletic Conference play. We have a balanced schedule with several high level opponents that will test us early and hopefully prepare us for the WAC and make us a better team."
The Golden Hurricane will face four 2003 NCAA Tournament teams in 2004. The four postseason teams include Oklahoma and Oklahoma State of the Big 12 Conference, WAC rival SMU and Southland Conference member, Stephen F. Austin. TU will host both OU and OSU in the annual Oklahoma Shootout, and will play the Mustangs and SFA on the road.
FORWARDS
Tulsa will deploy three forwards into its attack, but one of the big questions is which three players will be penciled in as starters. The Hurricane's leading scorer last season was forward Staci Morgan, who netted five goals and four assists for 14 points, but graduated last May.
A trio of returners will compete for a starting position. Sophomore Katie Ward and junior Ashley Rickner each made the move from defender to forward this past spring, while sophomore Kristie Keirsey was the Hurricane's second-leading scorer last season.
Ward ranked third in scoring as a freshman with two goals and two assists for six points, and started 17 of 18 games as a defender. Ward is an ambidextrous and versatile player, and is capable of playing from either side of the field.
Rickner spent her first two seasons as one of TU's top defenders and has started all 37 games of her career. Last season, she was just one of two Tulsa players to start every game, and accounted for one assist.
Keirsey started 16 of 18 games as a freshman and produced three goals and one assist for seven points. She registered game-winning goals against Stephen F. Austin and Arkansas-Little Rock.
"We are going to put more of an emphasis on the attack and create scoring opportunities. I believe this team has many different options in ways to attack. Katie Ward gives us great size up front. She is a fearless player, who is good in the air, and knows how to finish. Ashley played defender, so she knows the tricks at getting behind the defense and exploiting it. She is very versatile and is good in one-on-one situations. Kristie is tenacious and has become a real spark for the team. She is creative and strong on the ball," Richardson said.
A pair of freshmen and a sophomore transfer will challenge the returning players during the preseason for a starting spot, including Kristina Corona, Katie Bahn and Katie Nirider.
Corona is a very speedy player, who controls the ball very well, while Bahn must make the adjustment to the college game, but should provide the team with depth.
A native of Tulsa and graduate of Cascia Hall Preparatory School, Nirider spent two seasons at the University of Alabama, but played just one season because of an injury. She played in three games as a freshman before an injury cut her season short and she received a red-shirt year as a sophomore. She will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at TU.
"Kristina is a very fast and relentless player with the ball. She works very hard off the ball and puts herself into scoring positions. Katie Bahn will compete for playing time and provide good depth. Katie Nirider is an ambidextrous player who is very good technically, is a great distributor and is a good finisher," Richardson added.
MIDFIELD
Tulsa's starting midfield will also feature three players. The Hurricane returns two center-midfield starters- juniors Jamie German and Carrie Schnarre. Junior Gina Gaston will make her playing debut in the midfield this season, while four freshmen will compete for playing time, including Kim Kincaid, Sarah Kitts, Nicole Macia and Molly Fitzsimmons.
German started nine of 18 games last season and was one the team's top assists leaders with four. An all-WAC second team performer as a freshman, German enters the 2004 season just one assist shy of breaking into TU's top-10 career assists list. She is one of TU's best passers and has proved to be very dependable in set pieces.
Schnarre is a very versatile player who is capable of starting either in the midfield or as a defender. Last season, she scored one goal and added two assists for four points, and was named the team's Defensive Player of the Year. Schnarre is very strong and reads the game well.
Gaston started six of 11 games before being sidelined with an injury. She is another player who will make a position change this season, moving from defender to the midfield.
"Jamie is technically perfect and will be an great asset in the midfield. Carrie is the anchor of the midfield. She reads the game well and will be one of the players who will initiate our attack. She holds the ball well and gives her teammates freedom to get forward. Gina has good size and provides the team will a lot of experience," Richardson said.
Kincaid is an intelligent player who has a solid left foot and could play in our set pieces this season, while Kitts is the tallest player on the team, standing at 5'10". Kitts is an experienced player, who should compete for playing time right away.
Macia has good field vision and is a very good distributor, while Fitzsimmons has a good work ethic and is very effective.
"Kim has a solid left foot and strikes the ball well from long range. She is also a good finisher. Sarah is a good distributor and will provide us with good service. She plays very well under pressure. Nicole is capable of playing right away and is another player who could start the attack. Molly has been a pleasant surprise. I believe she will challenge for a starting spot right away," Richardson added.
DEFENDERS
Tulsa's 2004 roster features eight defenders, making it the deepest position on the team. The Hurricane will start four defenders in its new system and it will be the defense that is counted on to stop its opposition and trigger the offensive attack.
A trio of returners will lead the way in the back, including seniors Alexis Arment and Susan Day, and sophomore Krista Barker. All three returners played at different positions last season and made the move to defense during the spring.
Arment started 11 of 17 games last season as a midfielder, but adapted well into her new role as a defender during the spring. She is a very good communicator and leader, and will serve as a co-captain this season.
Barker started 15 of 18 games as a true freshman and played as a forward. She contributed one goal for two points. She will now take her proven one-on-one abilities to the defense.
Day, who also played as a forward during the 2003 campaign, started six of 16 games as a junior and posted two goals and two assists for six points. She also had a great spring while learning the role of a defender.
"Alexis is a great leader both on and off the field, and is very committed to winning. She will be the anchor in our defense. Krista is a very aggressive and intelligent player. She reads the game well and is a very good distributor. Susan can really hold her own and attacks out of the back very well," Richardson said.
A total of five freshmen will fight for a starting spot and playing time. These five newcomers include Katherine Vitale, Ashley Giovanitti, Allison Dodd, Lindsey Smith and Lauren Gilliland.
Vitale is a very confident player who could play right away, while Giovanitti is a very consistent and versatile player who doesn't get beat very often. Dodd is another newcomer who could challenge for playing time. She is versatile enough to play either as a defender or midfielder.
Smith and Gilliland both hail from Tulsa. Smith prepped at Bishop Kelley High School, while Gilliland played at Edison High School. Smith is a good one-on-one defender and should see some playing time. Gilliland is a strong defender with the ability to provide long service out of the back.
"Katherine has a lot of natural soccer instincts. She shows a lot of initiative and has the ability to become a real `go to' player. Ashley is a good one-on-one defender with good size and is an excellent passer. Allison is a technically sound defender and is very good at getting into position during an attack. Lindsey has a solid work ethic and is an efficient distributor of the ball, especially on serves. Lauren also serves the ball well and makes good decisions. She has an excellent work ethic," Richardson added.
GOALKEEPER
Perhaps the biggest question mark on this year's team is who will play goalkeeper. However, Tulsa has the luxury of having two past full-time starters on its roster. Seniors Pam Devore and Abby Fahrig each have one full season as a starting goalkeeper under their belts, while incoming freshman, Meredith Hart, played at a very high level of club soccer.
Devore started the entire 2000 season, but missed the 2001 and 2002 campaigns with injuries. She played in five games last season and earned two starting assignments. She completed the season with a 1.99 goals-against-average.
Fahrig started the entire 2001 season and has played sparingly the last two seasons. A year ago, she started both games she played and registered a 0.99 GAA.
Hart is a very mobile and technical player who will also compete for the starting spot in the lineup.
"The starting goalkeeper position is up for grabs. We need to find a player who will dominate inside the 18-yard line and will compete every day. Pam is a solid technical player, who is also very competitive and determined. Abby works very hard and relies on her soccer instincts. She is very mobile and worked hard last spring. Meredith is also a very determined player. She played at such a high level on her club team that she should compete for the starting spot this fall. All three players will provide us with a great presence in goal," Richardson said.
