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For Immediate Release
August 31, 2005
LOFTY GOALS SERVE AS MOTIVATOR FOR EXPERIENCED
TEAM
Written by Grant Watley, Sports Information
Assistant
Nebraska Wesleyan placed second in the Great Plains
Athletic Conference each of past two years, and that’s exactly
where the GPAC women’s soccer coaches are predicting the Prairie
Wolves will land again in 2005. The team and Head Coach Taylor Haynes,
however, have loftier aspirations. Click
here to see GPAC Preseason Poll.
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“Despite finishing second
in the conference last year, we feel like we have a lot to
prove,” Haynes said. “Our goal is to meet our
maximum potential as a group and have fun while doing it.”
Hastings College, winner of the past two GPAC
titles, is picked to three-peat, but the Nebraska Wesleyan
women were the last team in the league to defeat the Broncos
(Oct. 22, 2003), and they have their sights set on a little
hardware of their own. |
All 11 starters return for the Prairie Wolves, and
experience out of the gate should help them in their bid for a GPAC
title and the team’s first-ever bid to the NCAA Division III
Championships. NWU faces four of its six Div. III opponents in the
first two weeks of the season, and hosts Hastings in just its second
conference tilt (Sept. 20). Click
here to see NWU's 2005 Women's Soccer Schedule.
“We need to play well in our Division III
games, no exceptions,” Haynes said. “I’m predicting
a much-improved conference, and everyone seems to bring their best
stuff when they play us.”
According to Haynes, who is a graduate of Hastings
College himself, losing only two seniors from 2004 is a major plus.
He will rely on his juniors and seniors to carry the team.
“Our strength is in our upperclassmen,”
Haynes said. “Most of them have been starting and playing
big minutes since their first season here. They will carry us when
the going gets tough.”
Haynes also has a talented recruiting class coming
in this season, which includes Monica Hilger, Vicki Koke and Wendy
Soenksen.
Hilger was the team captain of Lincoln Pius X’s
state championship team, which Haynes said was the best team in
the state regardless of class. Both Koke and Soenksen have been
members of state championship teams either at the club or high school
level as well.
“The best part about our team is they are
great students, and our incoming class is no exception,” Haynes
said. “They will have to work hard to get in the line-up,
which will make them grow and become great players.”
NWU returns 15 letter winners and seven All-Conference
performers from last season when the Prairie Wolves went 11-6-2
(7-2-2 GPAC).
“This is the most talented group I’ve
ever coached,” Haynes said. “I feel honored to be the
head coach of this team, and I know they can be one of the greatest,
if not the best ever to play at Nebraska Wesleyan. The truth is,
it is entirely up to them.”
Last spring, the NWU women selected their team captains
for the 2005 season. They are Stephanie Anderson, Kristen Lamoreaux,
Lindsay Priefert, Molly Shields and Sara Wulff.
“I fully expect them to lead the team, especially
the incoming players, on and off the field,” Haynes said.
“At Nebraska Wesleyan, each player is expected to set a good
example and give her best effort. We have a tradition of excellence
here and the women’s soccer team is a big part of that.” |
