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Women's Soccer Ends on High Note
November 1, 2005
MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny College women’s soccer team wrapped up its season with a final record of 10-5-2 overall and a final NCAC record of 4-3-1, falling just short of qualifying for the NCAC playoffs.
Outscoring their opponents 10-0 in the final two games of the season, including a win over NCAC Tournament #2 seed Kenyon, the Allegheny women bettered their opponents by a margin of 37-11 on the year. All five of the team’s losses came by just one goal, while eight of its ten wins came by two or more goals.
First year head coach Michael Webber had a lot to say in terms of the positives to take away from the year. "The attitude this team brought to training was exceptional and the leadership the four seniors demonstrated could not have been better, especially having to deal with a new coach and system. The entire team exhibited a resiliency and adaptability under these new and difficult situations. They were also willing to buy into a more attacking brand of soccer while not giving up their defensive mentality. All of this led to better results against nationally and regionally ranked opponents."
Leading the Gator offense against these opponents was senior Ashley Rogerson (Fairport, N.Y.), who finished with team highs in both total points and goals, with 24 and 11, respectively. Freshman Katie Murphy (Venetia/Peters Township), who finished second for the year in points with 18 and second in goals with seven.
Other main contributors to the 37 Allegheny Goals included Ashley Hughes (Wexford/North Allegheny) with four and Christy McShea (Murrysville/Franklin Regional), Megan Borden (Harrison City/Penn-Trafford), and Rebecca Rotoloni (McMurray/Peters Township) with three goals. The final multiple goal-scorer was Jillian Bolton (Hilton, N.Y.), who scored two goals on the year.
Contributing to those goals by means of an assist were Murphy with four, McShea, Borden and Stacy Miller (Wexford/North Allegheny) with three, and Rogerson, Rotoloni, Kelsey Boivin (Alberquerque, N.M), Emily Spencer (Evergreen, Colo.), and Ashley Lloyd (Pittsburgh, Upper St. Clair) with two assists.
Senior goaltender Beth Van Payrs (Erie/Villa Maria Academy) had a great season, putting up eight shutouts in all, while managing to accumulate 68 saves.
The program also says good-bye to four talented seniors in Jen Bilec (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Mount Lebanon), Miller, Rogerson, and Van Parys. Bilec suffered a season-ending injury early this year, but managed to score eight goals, pass out 13 assists, and start 57 games in her four years. Miller picked up three assists in 2005, but her role was on defense, where she was a key part to a Gator backfield that shut down opponents this year. Over four years she played in 61 games, starting 43 of those. Rogerson was an offensive threat who tallied 17 goals and four assists in three years of action while starting 34 games. Finally, Van Parys has seen time in goals since her freshman year, collecting 15 shutouts and 193 saves while in goal.
"The only disappointment of the season comes in our inability to be mentally prepared against all of our opponents," said Webber. Hopefully, we all have learned an important lesson this season. We are not good enough to take any opponent lightly or let down for 10 seconds in a match. With this said, this season was one of my most satisfying because of this team’s desire to train and just enjoy every day we were playing on the field."