New faces abound for Redhawks

The Southeast Missouri State women's soccer team has been tabbed the Ohio Valley Conference's preseason favorite for 2008.

Coach Heather Nelson figures that's quite a show of respect for a squad that lost seven starters, including several of its top players.

Not that Nelson believes the Redhawks are in for a fall, after a sensational 2007 that saw them capture their second straight OVC tournament title and make their second straight NCAA tournament appearance.

It's just that Nelson knows the Redhawks have many holes to fill.

"Given all the players we lost and that we only have three seniors, I was a little bit surprised," said Nelson, who has a 100-47-18 record as coach of the program she built from scratch. "It's a huge compliment and I think it shows a lot of respect for us."

Nelson's 10th season at Southeast begins Friday with a 7 p.m. home game against perennial regional power Saint Louis University.

If history is any indication, the 2008 campaign will be another successful one for the Redhawks despite returning just four starters.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Ashley Runion led the Redhawks with 11 goals last season.

After a losing season during the program's debut in 1999, Southeast has reeled off eight straight winning records.

That includes last year's 12-2-4 mark that saw the Redhawks sweep OVC regular-season and tournament championships.

Southeast then gave nationally ranked Missouri all it wanted in the NCAA tournament. The squads played to a 1-1 tie before MU prevailed on penalty kicks.

Among the seven starters missing from 2007 are record-setting goalkeeper Lindsay Pickering, the OVC defensive player of the year; and OVC offensive player of the year Courtney Alexander.

In addition, defender Vanessa Hart, second-team all-OVC and one of the league's top freshman a year ago, suffered a knee injury early this summer. She will miss the season.

"We'll definitely miss the girls from last year," said senior Casey Kraft, entering her fourth season as a starter. "We have a young team. It'll be a challenge.

"But the good thing is we have a lot of chemistry. We definitely have the talent, it's just getting everybody used to playing our system."

Despite losing so many regulars, the Redhawks return players who accounted for 19 of the team's 37 goals last season, although only seven of the 28 assists return.

Headlining the offense will be Kraft and sophomore forward Ashley Runion.

Kraft was a big scorer as a freshman, with seven goals and 17 points, but she primarily concentrated on defense the last two years. She figures to add considerably to her 14 career goals as she primarily will play up front this season.

Runion was the OVC freshman of the year and second-team all-OVC as she led the league with 27 points while ranking second with 11 goals last season. She is the only returning Southeast player who had more than two goals in 2007.

"They are proven scorers for us," Nelson said of Kraft and Runion.

Other returning starters for Southeast are senior defender Megan McGrath and junior defender Stephanie Kulavic.

Final senior Nicole Bussman also was a main player last year, although primarily off the bench. She and McGrath will be entering their fourth seasons as key contributors.

The Redhawks return six other letterwinners, although most of them saw limited time. Two of them will battle to replace Pickering in the nets.

Junior Rachel Harrington backed up Pickering the past two years, but saw little action. Sophomore Jessica Beckham saw no action in goal, but played one game in the field. Nelson has not decided yet on a full-time starter.

Others returning from a year ago are junior forward Lauren Lacopo; sophomore midfielder Gabrielle Eisenberg; and sophomore defenders Kristi Frick and Shayna Kremer.

Nelson expects sophomore forward Mabel Velarde, a transfer from NAIA power Lee University, to make an immediate impact.

The same goes for several of Southeast's freshmen, led by defenders Shona Goodwin and Nikki Edwards.

"We brought in some impact players and some of our returners who weren't starters have stepped up," Nelson said.

Rounding out the squad are freshman midfielders Katie Snelson and Abbie Albietz; freshman defender Taylor Thomas; redshirt freshman goalie Hannah Groom; and sophomore midfielder Margarita Arboleda.

"We lost a lot and we're young, but I still feel good about our team," said Nelson, who won her third OVC coach of the year award last season. "The difference is, last year we had so much seniority so we came into the preseason and everything just rolled.

"This year will take some time. Our goal is to always be ready for the OVC, which is the most important part of our season."

Noteworthy

• Captains for this season, as voted on by their teammates, are Kraft, McGrath and Hart, even though the later will have to redshirt because of her knee injury.

"That's quite a compliment to Vanessa, that she was voted captain even though she won't be able to play," Nelson said.

• The Redhawks' first two games are against the teams that handed them their only losses last year (the NCAA deems penalty kick defeats as ties and not losses).

Friday's opponent, Saint Louis University, beat Southeast 3-1. Missouri State, which visits Houck Stadium on Aug. 29, defeated the Redhawks 1-0. Both losses were on the road.

"It's a tough way to start the season, but it will be good for us," Nelson said.