2016
WOMEN’S SOCCER
WOMEN’S SOCCER PREVIEW 2016
S
pring Hill College women’s soccer head
Mobile found the back of the net twice last year
season at the helm of the Badgers with
ville, Tenn., and freshman Alexandra Vallas from
coach Allison Whitworth enters her first a young team in terms of numbers,
but the heart of the squad features a cadre of
experienced veterans. “Having a young team is
a challenge for any new coach,” says Whitworth. “But in this case we are reestablishing a culture
and creating a new identity for the program, so
it’s not all bad. We want a core group of players
who lead on and off the field. It’s my job to identify and lead that group.”
On the field, Whitworth wants an attacking
offense that moves quickly and with purpose.
“Scoring is fun,” she says. “You do that by attacking and denying the other team opportunities.
We need to be organized and disciplined on defense. Defense sets up your offense.” Whitworth is also aware of just how good the competition is in the Gulf South Conference (GSC). “The
GSC always features some of the top recruiting
in Division II and it’s a physical conference,” she
says. “In our case, naivety might be a blessing for our younger players, but we must establish our
style of play early and we need to show growth. It takes time, but Badger teams have a reputa-
tion for always fighting hard and we’ll need that attitude again this year.”
For the Badger offense, junior Madison
Camet of Kenner, La., is the leading returning scorer with six goals and four assists in 2015 while senior Darby Rasch of Madison, Ala.,
needs seven assists to tie the SHC career mark. Junior Beryl Newchurch from Madison and
sophomore Gabrielle Burmaster have impressed Whitworth in the early workouts. “Maddie is
really accepting her leadership role and Gabby
is learning more every day,” she says. Freshman midfielder Sydney DeJohn of Hoover, Ala., has also caught the coach’s attention. “Sydney has
great spirit,” Whitworth says. “She’s a very vocal
player and she is making our players better.” Fellow freshman midfielder Johanna Meister from
Germany will make an immediate impact on the SHC offense. “Johanna is a very calm player,”
Whitworth says. “She will have to adjust to the
American college game, but she has a calmness about her that we need.” Senior Lillian DeSousa from Mary G. Montgomery High School in
while junior Shannon Gleespen of Henderson-
St. Luke’s Episcopal School in Mobile each look to make their contributions.
The midfield will feature four sophomores
as Tatum Shacklett of Scottsdale, Ariz., and
Kaelin Dull from Plano, Texas, join SarahBeth
Hyde of Hattiesburg, Miss., and Melissa Schwartz from New Hyde Park, N.Y., as important cogs in the Badger transition game.
In defense, seniors Kait Eichorst of Cave
Creek, Ariz., and Lauren Clement of Scottsdale, Ariz., have teamed with fellow senior Brittany
McNair of Ocean Springs, Miss. “Our Arizona
connection has good chemistry and it’s exciting to see what they bring each day,” says Whit-
worth. Juniors Becca Roth of O’Fallon, Mo., and Aiesha Ledda of Memphis, Tenn., will also work with sophomore Meagan Byrnes from Kansas
City, Mo., to support the SHC defense. “Becca, Aiesha and Mimi all enhance our style of play
and have the ability to shift us from defending and into the attack. Francesca Talotta (junior;
Mobile) also keeps finding her way onto the field and making things happen, so it’s a fun battle to watch,” says Whitworth. Senior Jessica Keelen of Metairie, La., together with senior Audrey
Sanchez of Miami, Fla., freshmen Julia Gielniak
of Shelby Township, Mich., and Sabrina Sousa of Covington, La., will each add to Badger defensive depth this season.
Whitworth faces a tough decision when it
comes to final piece to the puzzle of 2016. At
goalkeeper, redshirt freshman Hannah Shankman of Alachua, Fla., is going head-to-head with freshman Kayla Beaston of Madera, Calif., for the starting role. “It’s always good to have to make tough choices,” says Whitworth. “It’s a good dilemma.”
The 2016 season will be the start of a new
era in SHC women’s soccer and Whitworth is
proud to lead it. “I’m really excited about this
year,” she says. “Our players surprise me at each practice. They know what caliber of person they
want here at Spring Hill and they want to leave a legacy. The team understands that we are here to develop the whole person and we want to
be known for more than just athletics. This is a
season of possibilities regardless of the results.”
GENERAL FACTS
COACHING STAFF Allison Whitworth – Head Coach
Allison Whitworth was named the head coach of Spring Hill College women’s soccer in December 2015 following a successful three-year stint as the lead assistant/goalkeeper coach and recruiting coordinator with the Ohio University Bobcats in Athens, Ohio. While at Ohio, Whitworth’s keepers tallied 322 saves with 10 shutouts over three seasons and in 2014 she joined the Region II Olympic Development Program staff as a goalkeeper coach for various events. The Bobcats placed two players on the Mid-America Conference All-Freshman Team over the past three seasons along with earning nine MAC All-Academic Team members in 2015. Since 2011, every team that Whitworth has coached has been awarded a NSCAA Team Academic Award. As a recruiter for the Bobcats, Whitworth signed MAC All-Freshman Team member forward Steph Rowland who played in all 18 games for Ohio as a freshman during the 2015 season and led the team in five offensive categories, including goals (5), points (11), shots (33), shots on-goal (18) and shots on-goal percentage (.540) to set an Ohio record for freshman goals scored. Whitworth also recruited goalkeeper Vanessa Cordoba who earned the starting role for the Bobcats as a sophomore in 2015 after winning a gold medal at the Bolivarian Games with the U-20 Columbian National Team. Whitworth spent two seasons (2011-12) as an assistant coach/goalkeeper coach at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). During her time in Murfreesboro, the Blue Raiders went a combined 24-14-1 and recorded 14 shutouts. MTSU ended 2012 with the second-best record in school history, finishing with a 145-1 mark and claiming a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title. While at MTSU, Whitworth was responsible for recruiting goalkeeper Kelsey Brouwer who finished her career with the school record for career wins, finished second overall in career saves, first in career shutouts with 27 and was named the winner of the C-USA Spirit of Service Award in 2013.
Alex Greco – Assistant Coach
Greco joined the Spring Hill staff in 2016 as assistant coach following one year with the women’s team at Indiana University (IU) as a volunteer assistant coach.
Institution: Spring Hill College City/State/Zip: Mobile, AL 36608 President: Christopher Puto, Ph.D. Founded: 1830 Enrollment: 1,496 Nickname: Badgers School Colors: Purple, white School website: shc.edu/about Home Facility: Library Field Capacity: 500 Affiliation: NCAA Division II Conference: Gulf South Athletic Director: Jim Hall Alma Mater: Grinnell College, 1995 Compliance: Chad LeBlanc Senior Woman Administrator: Alison Sellers-Cook Faculty Athletic Representative: Steven Almquist, Ph.D. Athletic Department Phone: 251-380-3485 Athletic Department Fax: 251-460-2196 Sports Information Director: Jim Stennett Alma Mater: Mississippi State, 1990 SID Phone: 251-380-4468 SID Email: jstennett@shc.edu Athletic website: www.shcbadgers.com Twitter: SHCBADGERS Facebook: SHCBADGERS Instagram: SHCBADGERS COACHING STAFF
While at IU, Greco was a part of a coaching staff that saw a defensive scoreless streak of 463 minute that ranks second in school history. On the practice field, Greco coached all positions and held the responsibility of developing practice plans and game tactics. Off the field, Greco integrated video analysis and formulated scouting reports of opposing teams while also managing player health and performance through season periodization and analyzing player training loads. In the classroom, the IU team held a combined GPA over 3.5., earning the team the highest GPA in IU Athletics for Fall 2015 and 14 Academic All-Big Ten selections. Greco joined the IU coaching staff as a volunteer assistant in 2015 season after spending the previous two years as a volunteer assistant at UNC Greensboro. In his second season with UNCG, Greco served as the goalkeepers coach, helping freshman Chloe Buehler earn Southern Conference (SoCon) All-Freshman accolades. He also worked individually with All-Conference players Georgia Brown, Rebecca Burrows and First Team All-Conference honoree Chesney White. In the spring of 2014, he also served as an interim assistant coach, helping the Spartans sign their recruiting class for the year. Greco completed his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration as a dual-major in Entertainment Sports Promotional Management and Business Management at Northwood University (now Keiser University) in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he also competed as a student-athlete on the men’s soccer team.
Head Coach: Allison Whitworth Alma Mater: Auburn, 2007 Record at school: 0-0-0 (1st season) Career record (women/men): 0-0-0 (1st season) Office Phone: 251-380-4475 Best time/day to reach coach: 10 a.m. Assistant Coach: Alex Greco (1st season) Head Athletic Trainer: Brian Gronewold, ATC Trainer’s Phone: 251-380-3493 TEAM INFORMATION Overall Record Last Year: 3-11-3 Conference/Finish: 2-9-1 (12th of 13) Final 2015 NCAA Ranking: n/a Starters returning/lost: 7/4
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2016 ROSTER No. Player
Pos.
Ht.
Class
Exp. Hometown/Previous School(s)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 RS
GK GK DEF DEF MF DEF/MF FWD FWD/MF MF FWD FWD/GK MF MF/DEF DEF DEF MF MF FWD/MF MF/DEF MF DEF FWD FWD DEF FWD MF MF
Fr. So. So. Sr. So. Jr. Jr. Sr. Jr. So. Sr. Jr. Sr. Fr. Sr. Fr. R-So. Jr. So. Fr. Jr. So. Fr. R-Sr. Fr. R-Jr. Jr.
5-8 5-1 5-4 5-3 5-5 5-6 5-3 5-3 5-2 5-5 5-8 5-7 5-3 5-6 5-6 5-8 5-4 5-5 5-3 5-6 5-6 5-6 5-5 5-3 5-3 5-0 5-2
HS SQ 1L 1L 1L 1L 1L 1L 1L 1L 1L 1L JV HS 1L HS 1L 1L 1L HS 1L JV HS 1L HS JV JV
Kayla Beaston Hannah Shankman Gabrielle Burmaster Kait Eichorst Tatum Shacklett Madison Camet Francesca Talotta Darby Rasch Beryl Newchurch Meagan Byrnes Lillian DeSousa Aiesha Ledda Jessica Keelen Julia Gielniak Lauren Clement Johanna Meister Kaelin Dull Becca Roth Sarah Beth Hyde Sabrina Sousa Shannon Gleespen Melissa Schwartz Sydney DeJohn Brittany McNair Alexandra Vallas Audrey Sanchez Hannah Houseknecht
2015 RESULTS Date
Opponent
Site
Sept. 4 Sept. 6 Sept. 11 Sept. 13 Sept. 19 Sept. 25 Sept. 27 Oct. 2 Oct. 4 Oct. 8 Oct. 11 Oct. 16 Oct. 18 Oct. 23 Oct. 25 Oct. 29 Nov. 6
at Northern State University at Minnesota State-Moorhead at University of Montevallo *at University of West Georgia *University of West Florida *at Christian Brothers University *at Union University (Tenn.) *Shorter University *Lee University *at University of North Alabama *Valdosta State University *at University of West Alabama *at University of Alabama in Huntsville *Mississippi College *Delta State University University of Tampa Southern Wesleyan University
Aberdeen, S.D. L; 1-2 Moorhead, Minn. T; 0-0 (2ot) Montevallo, Ala. T; 0-0 (2ot) Carrollton, Ga. L; 1-7 Library Field L; 0-5 Memphis, Tenn. L; 1-4 Jackson, Tenn. L; 0-3 Library Field W; 3-0 Library Field L; 1-3 Florence, Ala. L; 0-5 Library Field T; 2-2 (2ot) Livingston, Ala. L; 0-1 Huntsville, Ala. L; 0-3 Library Field L; 0-2 Library Field W; 3-2 Library Field L; 2-3 (2ot) Library Field W; 4-1
* GSC matches
Madera, Calif./Shattuck St. Mary’s School (Minn.) Alachua, Fla./Santa Fe HS Harvey, La./St. Mary’s Dominican HS Cave Creek, Ariz./Notre Dame Preparatory Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS Kenner, La./St. Mary’s Dominican HS Mobile, Ala./Faith Academy Madison, Ala./Bob Jones HS Madison, Ala./Pope John Paul II Catholic HS/Samford Kansas City, Mo./Saint James Academy Mobile, Ala./Mary G. Montgomery HS/South Alabama Memphis, Tenn./St. Agnes Academy Metairie, La./Cabrini HS Shelby Township, Mich./Utica HS Scottsdale, Ariz./Pinnacle HS Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany/Hochrhein-Gymnasium Waldshut Plano, Texas/John Paul II HS O’Fallon, Mo./Saint Dominic HS Hattiesburg, Miss./Sacred Heart Catholic HS Covington, La./Mandeville HS Hendersonville, Tenn./Hendersonville HS New Hyde Park, N.Y./New Hyde Park Memorial HS Hoover, Ala./Hoover HS Ocean Springs, Miss./Ocean Springs HS/Columbus State Mobile, Ala./St. Luke’s Episcopal School Miami, Fla./American Heritage Mobile, Ala./W.P. Davidson HS
Result
2015 GSC FINAL STANDINGS Team
GSC
Overall
North Alabama 10-2 Lee 10-2 West Florida 9-3 West Alabama 8-3-1 Miss. College* 7-3-2 West Georgia 7-4-1 Christian Bros 6-5-1 Union 4-7-1 Shorter 4-8 Valdosta State 3-7-2 Alabama Huntsville 3-8-1 Spring Hill* 2-9-1 Delta State 0-12
15-3-2 11-5-4 15-5-1 10-6-2 14-3-5 9-7-2 10-7-1 4-13-1 7-10 4-10-3 6-9-2 3-11-3 3-13-1
*Not eligible for the GSC Tournament during reclassification process
2016 ROSTER
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27
Kayla Beaston Freshman
Darby Rasch Senior
Lauren Clement Senior
Melissa Schwartz Sophomore
Alexandra Vallas Freshman
Hannah Shankman Sophomore
Beryl Newchurch Junior
Johanna Meister Freshman
Sydney DeJohn Freshman
Gabrielle Burmaster Sophomore
Meagan Byrnes Sophomore
Kaelin Dull R-Sophomore
Kait Eichorst Senior
Lillian DeSousa Senior
Becca Roth Junior
Tatum Shacklett Sophomore
Aiesha Ledda Junior
SarahBeth Hyde Sophomore
Brittany McNair R-Senior
Audrey Sanchez R-Junior
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Madison Camet Junior
Jessica Keelen Senior
Sabrina Sousa Freshman
Francesca Talotta Junior
Julia Gielniak Freshman
Shannon Gleespen Junior
2016 SCHEDULE Date
Opponent
Site
Aug. 26 Sept. 1 Sept. 3 Sept. 9 Sept. 11 Sept. 16 Sept. 18 Sept. 23 Sept. 25 Sept. 28 Oct. 7 Oct. 9 Oct. 12 Oct. 16 Oct. 21 Oct. 23 Oct. 27 Oct. 29 Nov. 6
University of Mobile (Exhibition) at Palm Beach Atlantic University vs. Malone University Florida Southern College Rollins College *Christian Brothers University *Union University *at University of West Georgia *Valdosta State University *University of North Alabama *at Lee University *at Shorter University at Auburn University at Montgomery *at University of West Florida *University of West Alabama *University of Alabama in Huntsville *at Delta State University *at Mississippi College Auburn University at Montgomery
Library Field 3:30 p.m. West Palm Beach, Fla. 7 p.m. (EST) West Palm Beach, Fla. 2 p.m. (EST) Library Field 3:30 p.m. Library Field 1 p.m. Library Field 1 p.m. Library Field 1 p.m. Carrollton, Ga. 6:30 p.m. (EST) Library Field 1 p.m. Library Field 3:30 p.m. Cleveland, Tenn. 7 p.m. (EST) Rome, Ga. 1 p.m. (EST) Montgomery, Ala. 4:30 p.m. Pensacola, Fla. 12:30 p.m. Library Field 3:30 p.m. Library Field 1 p.m. Cleveland, Miss. 3 p.m. Clinton, Miss. 1 p.m. Library Field 1 p.m.
*GSC matches
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Time