2008 Woodie Awards
Women's soccer preps for new season
Gordon Beedle
Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: Sports
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"It's motivation. It's always there. It just doesn't go away," head coach Matt Granstrand said.
It was a record-breaking year for the women's team in more than one way, as they also set marks for the most goals scored (48), best conference record (6-2) and longest winning streak (7 games).
At the end of the year, NMU was ranked fourth in the Great Lakes Region, yet when the votes were counted, the Wildcats still fell short and fifth-ranked Quincy played in the tournament instead.
"There's no reason a 16-2 team shouldn't play in the tournament," Granstrand said.
Granstrand said the experience has made his team stronger and that they will use it as a stepping-stone toward success in the fall of next season.
The team's goal this season is to make it to the NCAA tournament, but they also know that it will take a good amount of work and there is still room for improvement.
"We should have been there, but we weren't," junior center midfielder Amanda Gadomski said. "They are looking for something better and that's what we have to be."
Gadomski is one of five returning juniors. She will be a team captain along with Sarah Scarpace this fall and said that if all the seniors step up, they should have a great season.
Coach Granstrand also believes that the team's success in 2007 will depend on those five seniors.
"Our success will be 100 percent based on our seniors," he said.
The other three returning seniors next season are Jami Beebe, Katie Alcini and Renee LeBlanc. LeBlanc led the team in shots with 73, goals with 14 and points with 30. She will be a big part of the team's offense this coming season, Granstrand said.
"We look to her to score goals and often she delivers," he said.
The team expects to improve their offensive firepower with five recruits and a lot of younger players who are looking to score goals, Granstrand said.
Also returning for the fall is last year's surprise freshman goal keeper Kara Music. Music was first team all-GLIAC and second team all-region in her freshman season last fall. During the 2006 season, she had an average of 0.85 goals against average.
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