Photo by: Al Samuels
CofC Women’s Soccer Set to Begin 25th Season in Program History
8/16/2017 1:50:00 PM | Women's Soccer
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston women's soccer team will kick off its regular season this Friday against the Campbell Camels, and it will be an historic occasion as the Cougars will officially begin their 25th season in program history.
"We're super excited for the season to be kicking off," head coach Christian Michner said. "We return a lot of players who played a ton of minutes for us last year. We know the CAA season is going to be tight because it always is, but we're looking to take last year's success and use it as a spring board for this season."
The Cougars come off their most successful season since joining the CAA in 2013, posting a 10-7-3 overall record and a 3-3-3 record against conference foes. That led to the team's first-ever CAA Tournament berth, and earned them a trip to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on the No. 3 seeded James Madison Dukes, against whom they narrowly lost 1-0 thanks to a late goal.
CofC graduated five players from last year's squad, including goalkeeper Lauren Killian who finished her career as one of the greatest to ever wear the maroon and white. With Killian in frame, the Cougars pulled off a nine-game unbeaten streak that lasted for over a month, while Killian also posted the third-longest shutout streak in school history (532 minutes) as well as broke CofC school record for most saves in a career with 280.
"The best teams in the world rely on their veteran leadership, and to have so many players who fit that bill is huge for us," Michner said. "When you mix that with fresh blood and new faces and new ideas, it makes for an awesome recipe to make a great team."
Still, the Cougars find themselves in a position of strength, with nine seniors on the team to provide a wealth of veteran leadership to the squad. Also returning are the Cougars pair of stellar junior defenders Meredith Tunney and Maddy Brill-Edwards, both of whom received All-CAA Preseason acclaim just a week ago. On the offensive end, CofC is led by another set of juniors in Laura Ortega and Raymara Barreto, who topped the team with a combined 32 points (11g, 10a) between the two of them.
In addition to their returners, the Cougars will also feature several new faces, including a new assistant coach in Shanna Caldwell, the former head coach of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Beyond that, the Cougars added a pair of transfers in Kalli Vogel and Ana Lesmes, as well as seven new freshmen.
The Cougars begin their season with a pair of 6 p.m. home games when they take on Campbell on Friday and Coastal Carolina on Sunday. From there, they will play five road games and a home game (September 1 vs. Presbyterian) before celebrating their 25th Anniversary Alumni Weekend with games against North Florida (Sep 15) and Jacksonville (Sep 17) to cap off the non-conference slate.
"We're going to be looking to create our identity immediately in these first few games," Michner said. "Last year we proved that we were a very difficult team to score against, and that's something we're going to want to solidify this year as well. We also have some very creative players on the attack, and I think with those two things going for you, you can win a lot of games."
Season tickets are still available for CofC Soccer, with prices ranging from $40 for adults and $20 for youth. To get yours, visit CofCSports.com/Tickets, or call (843) 953-COFC.
"We're super excited for the season to be kicking off," head coach Christian Michner said. "We return a lot of players who played a ton of minutes for us last year. We know the CAA season is going to be tight because it always is, but we're looking to take last year's success and use it as a spring board for this season."
The Cougars come off their most successful season since joining the CAA in 2013, posting a 10-7-3 overall record and a 3-3-3 record against conference foes. That led to the team's first-ever CAA Tournament berth, and earned them a trip to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on the No. 3 seeded James Madison Dukes, against whom they narrowly lost 1-0 thanks to a late goal.
CofC graduated five players from last year's squad, including goalkeeper Lauren Killian who finished her career as one of the greatest to ever wear the maroon and white. With Killian in frame, the Cougars pulled off a nine-game unbeaten streak that lasted for over a month, while Killian also posted the third-longest shutout streak in school history (532 minutes) as well as broke CofC school record for most saves in a career with 280.
"The best teams in the world rely on their veteran leadership, and to have so many players who fit that bill is huge for us," Michner said. "When you mix that with fresh blood and new faces and new ideas, it makes for an awesome recipe to make a great team."
Still, the Cougars find themselves in a position of strength, with nine seniors on the team to provide a wealth of veteran leadership to the squad. Also returning are the Cougars pair of stellar junior defenders Meredith Tunney and Maddy Brill-Edwards, both of whom received All-CAA Preseason acclaim just a week ago. On the offensive end, CofC is led by another set of juniors in Laura Ortega and Raymara Barreto, who topped the team with a combined 32 points (11g, 10a) between the two of them.
In addition to their returners, the Cougars will also feature several new faces, including a new assistant coach in Shanna Caldwell, the former head coach of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Beyond that, the Cougars added a pair of transfers in Kalli Vogel and Ana Lesmes, as well as seven new freshmen.
The Cougars begin their season with a pair of 6 p.m. home games when they take on Campbell on Friday and Coastal Carolina on Sunday. From there, they will play five road games and a home game (September 1 vs. Presbyterian) before celebrating their 25th Anniversary Alumni Weekend with games against North Florida (Sep 15) and Jacksonville (Sep 17) to cap off the non-conference slate.
"We're going to be looking to create our identity immediately in these first few games," Michner said. "Last year we proved that we were a very difficult team to score against, and that's something we're going to want to solidify this year as well. We also have some very creative players on the attack, and I think with those two things going for you, you can win a lot of games."
Season tickets are still available for CofC Soccer, with prices ranging from $40 for adults and $20 for youth. To get yours, visit CofCSports.com/Tickets, or call (843) 953-COFC.
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/ Women's SoccerWednesday, May 27
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