USC Salkehatchie Women’s Soccer 2011 Season Preview
The 2011 soccer season will be the sixth campaign for the USC Salkehatchie women’s soccer program. Each year the ladies have taken another step forward and this year will be no exception.
This is a bold statement when you consider that the Indians graduated 8 players in May. As an indicator of the progress the team has made over the years, 7 of those players received soccer scholarships to continue their playing careers at four-year colleges.
Despite losing so many quality players, confidence among the Indians is high. The team will return a nucleus of strong players including center back Jess Marchant of Queensland, Australia, who was named to the 2010 All Region team for NJCAA Region X. Jess will have familiar players manning the defense with her as she will be joined on the back line by other sophomores including Lashera Chisholm of Chester, Dana Crews of Nahunta, GA, and Devon Cocuzza of Bluffton. Sophomore goalkeeper Danielle van Hulst of Walterboro, a former standout at Colleton County High School, will play in goal for the Indians. “With our goalkeeper and most of our back line returning from a team that was noted for strong defense in 2010,” says Bill Glass, USC Salkehatchie Head Soccer Coach, “the defense should pick right up where it left off last year.” Glass means that the 2011 squad should be just as hard to score on as last year’s team which had a record of 7-8-4. That is a lot of ties when you consider that each tie represents a stellar defensive effort not just for 90 minutes, but for 110 minutes! In fact, the team’s defense carried the ladies deep into second overtime at the NJCAA Region X tournament semi-final match last November when a penalty call in the box led to the Indians being knocked out of the tournament by Spartanburg-Methodist on a score of 1-0. This year’s players are determined to go even further into the Region X Tournament than last year’s squad; in fact they want to win the championship!
To be successful, the team will need to have depth, and this year’s defense will be bolstered with the addition of goalkeepers Lizeth Trujillo of Bluffton and Blakeney Sanders of Barnwell. Sierra Lamar of South Aiken is a strong outside defender who also played sweeper as a varsity soccer player at Silver Bluff High School. The Indians are also very excited about adding a little island flavor to the side in the form of central defender Amelia Green of Antigua. Green has played high level club soccer for years and is a national team player for her home country.
The biggest opportunity for improvement this year is on offense. “The midfield is critical to generating and sustaining attacks,” according to Glass. Therefore he is pleased to have midfielder Lauren Pierson returning to the squad after suffering an injury in 2009 which kept her out of action last year. Pierson was a standout attacking player at Wade Hampton High School (H). She will be joined in the midfield by freshman Sherrieka Othello of Miami, FL, who made her mark playing for Miami Springs High School. Cyles Barnes also of Miami, FL, teamed up with Othello at Miami Springs and plays defensive midfield. The Indians will also be able to rely on Andrea Upchurch of Pelion who gained valuable experience playing midfield and forward on the varsity for Pelion High School.
Of course, when you think of attacking soccer, you think of your forwards who are primarily responsible for putting the ball in the opponents net. “This year we will be looking to do a better job finishing off attacks than we did last year,” according to Glass. “Our ladies did a great job building up attacks last year and finding the early over or through ball; however we could have done a better job finishing.” To this end Glass believes that the team will generate more firepower this year than it mustered in 2010. Courtney Lowe, a strong club player from New South Wales, Australia, will be a key part of the attacking equation along with Brittany May of Moncks Corner. May was the leading scorer for Berkeley High School last year. Michelle Adams of Hinesville, GA, and Nicole Lewis of Saint Louis, MO, are also expected to make an impact for the Indians up top.
Training camp for the 2011 season will begin on Monday, August 1, and the Indians will face Brewton-Parker College in an exhibition match at 5 pm on August 12 in Mount Vernon, Georgia.
The team will then play an exhibition match versus Converse College at 5 pm on August 19 in Spartanburg. On August 24, the Indians will drive down to Bluffton for a friendly match with USC Beaufort and then kick off the regular season at 5 pm on August 27 with a home game versus Tri County Technical College.
“This team is going to get off to a fast start,” predicts Glass. “We have an excellent recruiting class this year and a group of very strong players coming back. The returning players will help the newcomers get up to speed quickly.” The Indians players have been on Facebook back and forth all summer talking to each other and encouraging each other to stick with their summer conditioning program. They are all very excited about the upcoming season. The team has some lofty ambitions for the season. “I get the impressions that our sophomores believe they have some unfinished business left over from last year to take care of before they move on from here,” says Glass.
