VMI women’s soccer coach Chris Bergmann has things pointed in the right direction. The Keydets (7-11-1 overall, 4-4-1 in SoCon play) finished at .500 in conference play in 2017, their best showing in eight years, and were the fifth seed in the Southern Conference Tournament, the program’s second-best postseason seed ever.
Bergmann will have to account for the loss of second-team All-SoCon defender Amy Horney, one of two VMI alums (along with Kristen Whitehurst) representing the program this summer on the U.S. Women’s Armed Forces Soccer Team.
The key for the Keydets is on the defensive end, where Bergmann’s teams have lowered their goals-against-average in each of his first three seasons at the helm.
Junior keeper Ceci Keppeler (Stafford, Va.) finished third in Division 1 in total saves (127) in 2017 to help spark that effort.
Three of last season’s top four scorers – sophomore forward Julianne Knoblett (Fulton, Md.), junior midfielder Taylor Callahan (Virginia Beach. Va.) and senior forward Emma Quirk (Ashburn, Va.) – return to anchor the offensive attack.
VMI opens its 2018 season on Friday at Hampton, with the home opener set for Monday, Aug. 20, against South Carolina State.
Story by Chris Graham
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AFP
