August 31, 2010

Women's Soccer Kicks Off Season Sunday at Home

The University of Missouri-St. Louis women's soccer team is looking to move back towards the top of the Great Lakes Valley Conference standings. With a year under his belt and core of highly-credentialed players on the roster, second-year head coach Bobby Lessentine and the Tritons are poised to do just that.

UMSL, which posted a 4-11-1 record last season, will be an equal mix of old and new in 2010. The Tritons bring back 10 returnees and welcome 10 first-year players.

Senior midfielder/forward Lynn Cerny returns to the field after missing last season with an ACL injury. As a junior in 2008, Cerny led UMSL with nine points, including four goals.

Fellow senior Jessica Hampton, a three-year starter in the backfield, also returns and is expected to anchor the defense once again.

The roster features just three seniors this season, with back Emily Castello rounding out the group. She is in her second season with the Tritons.

The junior class returns six, including goalkeeper Hanna Sayre, who enters the season ranked 10th all-time in program history with 105 career saves.

Hampton will be helped on defense by Anne Pregner and Lindsay Krull. Pregner is a two-year starter, while Krull saw significant time on the field in her first two seasons.

Returning in the front and middle are midfielder/forward Jesa Jenkins, forward/midfielder Kari Schelich and midfielder Annie Bouvatte.

Jenkins started 12 of 16 games she played in a year ago and paced the team with five assists, while Schelich started 11 of 16 games played in. Bouvatte appeared in seven games last season.

Midfielder/back Michelle Cissi is the lone sophomore returnee, seeing action in all 16 games as a freshman.

Highlighting the group of newcomers are four junior transfers from Lewis & Clark Community College, which won the NJCAA Division I national championship in 2008 and finished in the final four in 2009.

Included in that group is forward Kaylee Neutzling, a two-time NSCAA National Player of the Year. Also a two-time NSCAA and NJCAA first team all-American, Neutzling led Lewis & Clark in scoring as a freshman and sophomore, scoring 85 goals and recording 24 assists for 194 career points in 44 contests. She was also a two-time NSCAA and NJCAA first team all-region selection and was the 2009 NJCAA Region 24 MVP and twice earned first team all-MWAC accolades.

Fellow forward Kelly Muesenfechter was also a two-time first team all-MWAC honoree at Lewis & Clark and earned 2008 NSCAA and NJCAA first team all-American honors. As a freshman she was second in scoring behind Neutzling with 35 goals and recorded a team-best 21 assists for 91 points. As a sophomore, she tallied 10 goals and 14 assists, finishing her LCCC career with 125 points in 48 games.

Midfielder/back Jessica Randazzo and midfielder Bridget Belli are the other two LCCC transfers. Randazzo earned second team all-MWAC honors at Lewis & Clark, while Belli, who was selected to the NJCAA all-tournament team as a freshman, also earned second team all-MWAC accolades as a sophomore.

Other transfers include sophomore midfielder/back Jaime Morton, sophomore back/midfielder Courtney Blake and junior midfielder/back Samantha Faron. Morton comes to UMSL after one season at Michigan, while Blake spent one season at Kentucky. Faron spent two years at Oral Roberts, appearing in nine contests as a sophomore and 16 as a freshman.

Making their collegiate debuts are freshman goalkeeper Christina Lips, midfielder Lindsay Marcinik and midfielder/forward Suzy Ryan.

Lips was a three-year letterwinner at Parkway West (Mo.) High School, while Marcinik was a four-year letterwinner at Bayside (Fla.) High School, where she helped her team to the program’s first district championship and regional game. Ryan prepped at Hazelwood (Mo.) West High School, leading her team to the 2009 district championship. Rated as one of the top 20 St. Louis area players by ESPN Rise, Ryan led her team in scoring as a sophomore and junior and earned all-conference and all-metro honors.

The 2010 schedule begins on Sunday, when the Tritons entertain Indianapolis in which will also be the GLVC opener for both teams.

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