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News
Lady Cougars Post Stellar Year on And off
The Pitch
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (2-8-2012) - The Mount
Vernon Nazarene University women's soccer
team posted another successful season in
2011 as the Lady Cougars achieved success
both on and off the soccer field.
The season got off to a challenging
start as the team posted a 1-3-1 record over
its first five matches against rugged
competition with two of the losses coming by
one goal each and three of the teams being
ranked (No. 14 Oklahoma City University) or
receiving votes (John Brown University and
Southern Nazarene University) in the NAIA
preseason poll.
MVNU bounced back to
win its next two matches by identical 1-0
scores over Malone University and Urbana
University before falling 1-0 at Cedarville
University to close out non-conference play.
The Lady Cougars posted a 1-0 win at the
University of Saint Francis (Ind.) in the
team's first-ever Mid-Central College
Conference match and then went 1-3 over the
next four matches as they played the teams
that would finish in the top three spots in
the final conference standings (Spring Arbor
University, Grace College, and Marian
University) as well as perennial favorite
Indiana Wesleyan University.
At that
point with an overall record of 5-7-1, MVNU
won three of its final four regular-season
matches over Huntington University, Goshen
College, and Bethel College and tied Taylor
University to finish 8-7-2 and tied for
third in the MCC with a 5-3-1 conference
mark.
The Lady Cougars kept their
momentum going in the MCC Tournament with a
2-0 win over Indiana Wesleyan and a 2-1
come-from-behind win at Grace to avenge
earlier losses before falling 3-0 in the
championship match at No. 10 Spring Arbor to
finish as MCC Tournament runner-ups.
However, MVNU's season was not over yet as
the Lady Cougars earned an at-large berth
into the National Christian College Athletic
Association National Tournament in
Kissimmee, Fla. MVNU, the No. 4 seed,
defeated No. 5 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan
University 1-0, fell to eventual national
champion No. 1 seed California Baptist
University, and then earned third place
honors with a 1-0 victory over No. 7 seed
Asbury College in the consolation bracket to
cap off a successful 12-9-2 campaign.
"I couldn't be more proud of our players
as they once again performed in top fashion
in so many ways," said MVNU coach Daniel
Seiffert, who wrapped up his third season at
the helm. "Facing the toughest schedule in
program history and entering the strong MCC,
we knew that we had our work cut out for us.
The girls accepted the challenge, and
through hard work, determination, and sheer
tenacity, they produced an exceptional
season."
"Winning 12 matches on their
way to a third-place finish in the
conference and earning their way into the
MCC championship match with a second-place
finish was quite an accomplishment,"
Seiffert continued. "Then, to go on to the
NCCAA National Tournament in Florida and
come away with a third-place finish while
playing against very strong teams, most of
which had won their own conference and
region tournaments, really provided a
terrific finish to a great season."
Individually, several players were
recognized for their contributions to the
team. Senior defender Challyn Dobson earned
numerous All-American honors after anchoring
the team's back line that produced eight
shutouts. Senior forward Amanda Woods led
the Lady Cougars with seven goals and two
assists, while junior forward Jessica Linger
contributed six goals and four assists.
Freshman midfielder Megan Griffith also
added four goals and two assists, and 11
other players tallied at least one goal.
Senior defender Kelci Rhodes was also second
on the team with three assists, and 14
different players had at least one assist on
the season. In goal, freshmen Lexus Andolino
and Eleni Miller combined to split time,
while sophomore Lindsey Blue also appeared
in three matches.
"While many of our
players were honored for their efforts on
the field, they also continued to make
history off the field as well," said
Seiffert. "Because of their efforts in the
classroom and in our community, they were
honored with program and school-record
numbers in NAIA and NCCAA Scholar-Athletes
(7), Capital One Academic All-District
honorees (8), the NAIA and NSCAA Team
Academic awards, and the NSCAA Team Ethics
and Sportsmanship award. Our
student-athletes were well-deserving of
these honors, but the award moment that was
most representative of our team as a whole
yet humbling at the same time was when our
team was named the recipient of the NAIA's
Buffalo Funds Five Star Champions of
Character Award. To receive this award which
goes annually to just one of the NAIA's 193
women's soccer programs nationally was very
humbling but at the same time reflective of
what our players are all about."
"Once again, we have a lot to be thankful
for," Seiffert concluded. "Our senior
leadership (Dobson, Woods, Rhodes, Erin
Washington, Andrea Fisher, Lindsey Shaffer,
Ashley Smithberger, Heidi Moeckel, Courtney
Ricker, and Sarah Buehler) was terrific and
I would like to thank them for all of their
efforts. I'm really looking forward to what
God has planned for them as well as for each
player on our team as we seek to honor Him
in all that we do going forward. We are also
very thankful for the continued strong
support that we receive from our parents,
families, faculty, administration, and the
MVNU community. This support is the bedrock
of our program and we are very appreciative.
And above all, we thank God for all of his
provisions and for giving us this wonderful
opportunity to play the game that we love."
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