Lady Jacket Soccer wants to build on momentum

DEFIANCE, OHIO-- The Defiance College Lady Jacket soccer program enters the 2005 season with new leadership and will look to build on the success of recent seasons.

First-year head coach Scott Baker steps onto the sidelines at Winsper-Knobel Field for his first season at the helm of Defiance College Soccer. Baker has high hopes for the future of Yellow Jacket Soccer, after spending the previous two years as the head men’s coach at Brookdale Community College. He brings the experience of building Brookdale and Flagler College’s women’s program to Top-3 and Top-25 national rankings, respectively, after winning an NCAA National Championship as a student-athlete at Rowan University.

Defiance lost just one regular season conference game in 2004, finishing 8-5-5 overall and 3-2-3 in the Heartland Conference after falling to Transylvania in the first round of the HCAC postseason tournament. The DC seniors and juniors went 8-8-1 in 2003.

On the field, the Lady Jackets return a core group of ’04 contributors. Senior midfielder Krista Gray is the on-field leader for the Lady Jackets, having three seasons of experience under her belt. Fellow senior Katie Klear is the program’s all-time leader in goals with 30 and will aim to fuel DC’s offensive machine after scoring 10 goals in 2004. Emily Armstrong, a senior defender will anchor the Jacket defense.

“We have a great bunch of players that are working hard and adjusting very well to the new coaching styles,” said the first-year DC mentor.

Sophomore Michelle Kavanagh also returns to the DC offense after scoring two goals in 2004, while senior Nicole Carter will also contribute up front.

Joining Gray in midfield will be junior transfer Deirdre Trujillo and sophomore Jessica Gamble, along with seniors Amanda Betzing and Abby Kolodziejczyk. Freshmen Tiffany Chudzinski and Kaitlin Monberg will also aid in DC’s midfield play.

Sophomore Sarah Sutter returns to goal after starting 16 games in ’04 with six shut outs and a .893 saves percentage. The defensive line-up will consist of athletic sophomores Rachel Moore and Jessica Bosserman who started as freshmen last year. Freshman Sarah Plas will also look to contribute to the DC defense.

Assistant coach Jennifer Lafferty enters her third season as the DC women’s assistant coach. Lafferty was an MVP performer for the Lady Jackets in the late 90’s. Brian Eichenberg, who played collegiately for Baker at Brookdale and was late an all-conference defender at Methodist College, will also assist in mentoring the women’s squad

The Defiance women open up the season at the Oberlin College Tournament on September 3 and 4, a tournament they won last year, and will then travel to Ohio Northern to face the Polar Bears on September 7. The Lady Jackets open their home slate on September 13th when they host Ohio Wesleyan University.