EMU women’s soccer has a foundational group

Entering his third year at the helm of the Eastern Mennonite women’s soccer program, Coach Ted Erickson has a lot of confidence in his young squad.

“This should be the cornerstone team to moving this program back to the top tier of the ODAC,” Erickson said.

A very productive year of recruiting brought in 17 new Royals, including 13 freshmen, swelling the overall roster to 28. The women’s soccer program hasn’t had more than 20 on the team size the 2011 season.

Not only are the newcomers high in quantity, but they are also high in quality.

“This is easily one of the largest recruiting classes that the EMU women’s soccer team has had and their overall athleticism and soccer IQ are very high,” explained Erickson. “(As a result) the team’s athleticism and depth will greatly improve our overall performance this year.”

With just one senior on the roster, the women have a large group of players in place who should have at least a couple of years together, giving continuity to a program which hasn’t won an ODAC Tournament game since reaching the semifinals in 2006.

According to the league’s coaches, however, EMU’s women have some work to do as they were tabbed for No. 11 in the 13-team league, with the ODAC Preseason Poll being released today. As a result of the new unbalanced schedule in the league, the ODAC increased the size of the women’s postseason tournament to 10 teams. With the poll showing the Royals just a small handful of points behind Emory & Henry in ninth and Randolph in tenth, Erickson has his sights set on a return to the postseason.

“We want to have a better overall season compared to last year and if we can achieve that, we will be fine in making the tournament,” he explained. “We really need our young players to adjust to the game quickly and contribute early in the season so that they have the necessary confidence once we start ODAC play.”

Click here to see the full ODAC Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll, including capsules on each team.

Even with the influx of youth on the roster, the Royals will benefit from their experience gained during a tough 2015. Erickson said a challenging slate of games left the Royals winless on the road but forced the team to adjust to college soccer.

“It allowed our younger players another year to grow as college soccer players,” he explained, “and moving into this season, it should help with them leading our new players on how to prepare for a college game and a game on the road.”

The loss of a talented senior class including Elisa Ott (No. 10 in EMU career goals), Morgan Hill (No. 3 in EMU career assists) and four-year starting keeper Becca Borg (No. 2 in EMU career saves) will add to the adjustment period for this year’s new players, but Erickson sees differences in his team already just days into preseason.

“We are excited about this year’s group,” he said. “We have added a lot of new faces and I believe our overall team athleticism has improved. We will certainly miss our seniors from last year, but we trust that our young players are confident and capable to step in and take us forward this season.”

This year’s junior class will be key in this transition, with Hannah Walker (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield), Rachel Sturm (Denton, Md./North Caroline) and Emma Petersheim (Linville, Va./Eastern Mennonite) anchoring the back line. The 6-0 Walker was All-ODAC Third Team in 2014. Sierra Martin (Glenwood, Springs, Colo./Glenwood Springs) (six career goals) and Marcy Smucker (Woodward, Pa./Penns Valley) will provide leadership in the midfield, which is bolstered by the return of Sara Shenk Moreno (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg), who had four goals and three assists as a freshman in 2014. Amanda Williams(Millsboro, Del./Delmarva Christian) (eight career goals) is the lead returner at forward.

Erickson also cited a number of newcomers who could contribute right away in Harrisonburg: Ariel Barbosa (Baltimore, Md./Towson), Kylie Paul (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley), Emily Hostetler (Marshallville, Ohio/Smithville), Laura Rittenhouse(Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite), Sophia Hartman (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) and Shaylla Oswald (Broadway, Va./Broadway).

Replacing Borg in front of the net could take more time to sort out.

“As of right now we have an open competition for the starting spot and may have a rotation at that position as we start the year,” said Erickson said of his keeper. “Becca will be hard to replace but I think we have a lot of talent on the roster and the battle will push all three to become stronger players.”

Simply put, Erickson has good reason for optimism with the onset of the 2016 campaign.

“We’re excited for our youth,” said EMU’s coach. “We only have one senior on our roster and all of our new faces are set and ready to jump in and help out right away. Missing out on the tournament last year was unacceptable and so we have tried to create a schedule that will prepare us to be back in the postseason and hopefully position ourselves to make a run.”

Eastern Mennonite plays two games at the Marymount Classic on Sept. 2 and 3, before hosting three of their next four games on the EMU Turf Field. The women have home dates on Sept. 6, 10 and 12, before getting the rest of their six home contests in October.

Click here to see the full 2016 EMU Women’s Soccer schedule.