KUTZTOWN, PA (August 27, 2010) – Coming off of their finest season in program history, the Kutztown University women's soccer team enters 2010 looking to duplicate or surpass the success it experienced last year. With seven returning starters, several key returnees and a talented freshman class, the expectations are sky high for the Golden Bears.
“The standard this year has been set extremely high and we must work very hard to make sure this standard is upheld,” Kutztown University head coach Erik Burstein said. “Matching what we did last year will certainly be a tremendous challenge, but we will go into the season with the right players, the right attitude, the right approach and the mentality to never settle. I believe we have the players to make another magnificent run.”
The 2009 season was one to remember. Kutztown won a school record 15 matches, advanced to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship game, hosted a round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region championship tournament and finished the 2009 season ranked 25th in the final National Soccer Coaches' Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25 poll. The Golden Bears peaked at No. 9 in September in the NSCAA poll.
Matching that will be tough as Kutztown will have a bulls-eye on its back. The Golden Bears are more than equipped to handle the challenge because it is experienced, talented and determined to return to the NCAA tournament.
“This year we welcome the deepest team we have had to date,” Burstein said. “The returning players have all proven their ability to adapt to our style of play and performed very well in our system. Overall, I believe we have great chemistry and we really improved on many levels from last year.”
Fortunately for Burstein, he welcomes three all-conference players back to the team. Senior Cheslea Deeter, junior Shannon Pennock (Mansfield, N.J./Northern Burlington) were PSAC East first team selections while sophomore Kelly Rozembersky (Roxbury, N.J./Roxbury) was a second team honoree.
Deeter, a national women's soccer national player of the year candidate, and Rozembersky anchored a defense that posted a school-record 13 shutouts in 2009. A two-time first team all-PSAC selection, Deeter was named to the first team Atlantic Region squads of the Daktronics and NSCAA postseason teams. She's one of the best defenders in the PSAC.
Pennock finished with six goals and 14 points last season and was named to the NSCAA Atlantic Region second team.
“Every year presents new challenges for both the players and the coaching staff,” Burstein said. “Every challenge requires a different approach, so we will have to identify these challenges early and find ways to meet these challenges head on.”
Another returning defensive starter from 2009 includes senior captain Kelly Bushe (Neptune City, N.J./Neptune). Sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Hackelberg (Randolph, N.J./Randolph), who made 101 saves and recorded a program record 13 shutouts, also return for the Golden Bears. Sophomores Sarah Black (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) and Laura Hearn (Wall, N.J./St. Rose) started a majority of the matches last season and were key members of the team. Also returning to provide a boost to the Golden Bears will be junior Carolynne Kahl (Bethel, PA/Tuplehocken), who missed the 2009 season with an injury. Kahl finished second on the team in scoring with nine goals and three assist for 21 points as a sophomore. She had four game-winning goals and was 3-for-3 on penalty kicks.
Other key returnees for the Golden Bears include sophomore Emily Froehlich (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge), sophomore Julia DiFerdinando (Chadds Ford, PA/Garnet Valley), senior Jen Pyne (Wall Township, N.J./Wall) and sophomore Morgan Muracco (Washington Township, N.J./Paul VI). Froehlich scored Kutztown's only goal in the NCAA playoffs last season against California. Overall, she finished with four goals and two assists for 10 points. DiFerdinando and Pyne are solid and strong midfielders who will be expected to play a bigger role this season.
Burstein expects major contributions from newcomers Crystal Zerbe (Myerstown, PA/Tulpehocken), Stephanie Borland (Hagerstown, MD/Hagerstown), Maria Borland (Hagerstown, MD/Hagerstown), Casey Behrendt (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra), Danielle Suzenski (Fleetwood, PA/Fleetwood), Carlina Pagano, Caitlyn Brianna Schlupp, Katie Oliveri (Mifflinburg, PA/Mifflinburg), Bethany Feinberg, Jessica Woons (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute), Lily Taylor (Buena, NJ/Buena Regional), Megan Black (Yardville, NJ/Steinert) Lauren Heisse (Bensalem, PA/Archbishop Ryan), Katie Sales (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth), Allie Riegel (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks West) and Sam Moyer (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West).
With the PSAC becoming one conference, the Golden Bears will play every member once this season. The schedule features two sets of back-to-back games along with road trips to California, Indiana and Slippery Rock. Three of Kutztown's six losses last season were to West Chester. The Golden Bears only opportunity to avenge that defeat is September 15 at West Chester.
Kutztown starts the season against Assumption and Concord in the East Stroudsburg University tournament on Friday, September 3.
“We will face the toughest schedule in our programs history this fall,” Burstein said. “With the PSAC merging the Eastern and Western Conferences, we now have to face all the teams in the west as well as all the teams in the east. Every game will have a significant impact in our run for a conference and NCAA Tournament bid. We have also scheduled some extremely challenging non-conference matches this year. It should be some truly great entertainment for the fans and supporters of our program. It's going to be a challenging year, but I am really excited to start the season.”
--KU--
