Season Preview: Sea Gulls set to defend CAC crown
SALISBURY, Md. - For the first time since it won the Capital Athletic Conference championships in 2000 the Salisbury University women's soccer team enters the '07 season as the team to beat. The graduation of only three seniors from last year's squad has the Sea Gulls full of confidence and ready to return to the NCAA tournament.

"We want to repeat as conference champions," said SU coach Jim Nestor. "Last year we made a great run to become champions and we expect to repeat that type of performance."

Salisbury finished 10-7-1 last season, a four-win turnaround from the 6-10-1 season from 2005. In the Sea Gulls' 10 wins they only allowed two goals while tallying eight shutouts. Five times Salisbury scored five or more goals with a four-game span of outscoring its opponents 22-1.

SU ranked statistically as one of the most potent offenses in the CAC as they averaged a conference best 2.94 goals per game and the defense ranked second in the conference with a 1.11 goals allowed per contest average.

Salisbury returns two of its all-conference performers from last year's team and over 90 percent of its offensive production.

Forwards
One of the strengths of the team this season will be at the forward position. Kate Weaver (Abingdon, Md.) returns for her senior year after she garnered first-team All-CAC honors last year. Weaver set a new school mark for goals in a season with 20 and tied the school record for goals in a game with four against St. Mary's (Md.) College in the CAC title game. Her 42 points last year also set a new school record.

"Kate is a great leader for our team," said Nestor who was named CAC Coach of the Year in '06. "She knows what it takes to be successful and she is going to lead our team."

Joining Weaver at the forward position is sophomore Ally Olewine (Elkton, Md.) and junior Christina Eury (Germantown, Md.) who are expected to make an impact. Olewine ranked second on the team in total points (15) and third on the team in goals (six) while Eury led the team with five assists.

Junior Sam Asch (Marlton, N.J.) will return to the team healthy after missing eight games last year with an injury. In limited time Asch scored three goals and added two assists.

The depth at forward gets even deeper with junior Dana Passucci (Denville, N.J.). As a freshman in '05 Passucci led the team in goals and points and as an encore in '06 she ranked third on the team with 13 points and tied for the team lead in assists with five.

"We changed her [Dana] position last year with the new front we installed. She did a great job for us setting plays up," said Nestor who is entering his seventh season at his Alma Mater. "She is a hard worker and we are going to rely on her to keep our offense going."

Midfield
Before the start of the '06 season Salisbury put in a new front that moved two midfielders to a forward position. The Sea Gulls will be without their top midfielder from a year ago, but return 36 combined starts at the position to supply valuable game experience.

Junior Robyn Bishop (Columbia, Md.), a second-team All-CAC selection last year, returns and will be joined by senior Sara Schmidt (Glen Burnie, Md.) to spearhead the unit. Both Bishop and Schmidt debuted with Salisbury last year after transferring form New Hampshire and Catonsville Community College, respectively, and combined to total 17 points on the year.

Sophomores Kamer Clarke (Gaithersburg, Md.) and Erin Rudy (Olney, Md.) are likely to add depth to the position. Clarke and Rudy played in all 18 games last year and combined to net two goals and dish out two assists.

Defense
Last year the maroon and gold ranked second in the conference in goals allowed and third in goals allowed per game. SU returns a solid core of talent that gained game experience each week last year.

Sophomores Hillary Grove (Hagerstown, Md.), Kelli Salter (Marlton, N.J.) and Colleen Galligan (North Salem, N.Y.) along with junior Katie Marshall (Middletown, Del.) will be the backbone of the defense.

Salter started and played in 17 of the team’s 18 games while Grove appeared in all 18 games. Galligan filled in nicely for the Sea Gulls last year when SU lost one of its starting defenders towards the end of the year and will be looked upon to make an even bigger impact this season.

Marshall has started 14 of the 29 games she has appeared in over the past two seasons as she brings the most experience to the position.

Goalie
For the second consecutive season the Salisbury starting goalie job is up for grabs entering the preseason. The top two candidates to take over the vacant spot are juniors Kristin Greene (Finksburg, Md.) and Gena Goodson (Great Mills, Md.).

Greene made appearances in nine of SU's games last year and recorded nine saves while only allowing three goals. She recorded over 192 minutes in the cage last year and for her career has over 284 minutes.

Goodson played in three games last year and made two saves. In two seasons with Salisbury she has over 54 minutes in front of the net.

Schedule
The defense of the CAC title begins with back-to-back road games against a pair of first year conference members. First, on September 18 the Gulls will travel to Dover, Del., to face Wesley College. The Wolverines and Sea Gulls met for six straight season’s from 1996-01 with the Sea Gulls holding a 6-0 series lead.

On September 22, Salisbury will face-off against Villa Julie in Stevenson, Md. Last season the Mustangs finished second in the North East Athletic Conference tournament but received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament because SUNY Purchase was a provisional member of Division III. Salisbury routed VJC, 8-1, to open up the season last year.

"We are looking forward to the challenge of the new members of the conference," said Nestor. "We scrimmage Wesley a lot and it has always been a battle."

In addition to the two new members of the CAC, the Salisbury schedule also features six NCAA tournament teams from a year ago which includes Virginia Wesleyan, a national semifinalist. The Marlins are the preseason fourth ranked team in the country and currently hold a two-game winning streak over Salisbury. The series record is knotted at 5-5-1.

The Sea Gulls open their season on the road at the Cabrini Tournament in Radnor, Pa. Salisbury faces Rowan on August 31 and turns around the next afternoon to face tournament host, Cabrini. Rowan defeated SU in '06 2-0 while SU and Cabrini will met for the first time since 1995.

Salisbury hosts three home games in September with the first on September 12 against Virginia Wesleyan. On September 25 the Gulls will look to avenge its '06 regular-season finale loss to Christopher Newport before hosting Gallaudet in a CAC game.

"Whenever we play Virginia Wesleyan and CNU it’s a tough game," said Nestor. "They are both very strong teams and we will need to rise to the occasion in those games."

The Gulls have three more home games in October with the first coming against CAC rival the University of Mary Washington on the 6th. NCAA tournament team Richard Stockton and CAC member Hood College round out the home games on the 15th and 20th.

SU faces CAC conference tournament runner-up St. Mary's (Md.) on the road on October 13 and concludes its regular season on October 23 against Notre Dame (Md.) an NCAA tournament team from a season ago.

Summary
The Sea Gulls return a wealth of talent from last year's CAC championship team and will look to get off to a quick start at the Cabrini Tournament. Weaver is the main threat offensively but the play of Eury, Passucci and Olewine will play a big part on how successful the offense is. The defense is loaded with game experience which should help the Gulls defend their conference championship and advance to the NCAA tournament.

"If we can stay healthy and gel as a unit like we did last season we should be able to make a strong push in the NCAA tournament," said Nestor.