July 21, 2005

The Big Sky Conference. A new soccer stadium. Another year closer to being eligible for NCAA postseason. It all adds up to an exciting future for the University of Northern Colorado women's soccer team will experience in the 2006 season. But first the team will play out the 2005 season, its last as a Division I Independent and the third year of a four-year reclassification process to Division I.

"Our goals for the season are to compete in every game and get back to winning games," said head coach Tim Barrera, who enters his seventh season as head coach in 2005. "We want to be as prepared as possible when we step into Big Sky competition in 2006."

Northern Colorado officially joins the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2006, giving the team a conference for the first time since being a member of the Division II North Central Conference in 2002. In the seven years the soccer program competed in the NCC, the Bears had tremendous success, winning 87.8 percent (36-5 overall) of its matches, claiming four conference championships and earning four NCAA Division II Tournament berths. The Bears will have a chance to duplicate that success beginning in 2006 when they face off with the seven other BSC teams that sponsor women's soccer (Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana, Northern Arizona, Portland State, Sacramento State and Weber State). Northern Colorado will be eligible for a NCAA postseason berth in 2007, the first year following its reclassification process.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to join the Big Sky Conference," said Barrera. "The Big Sky is very competitive and all of the teams are getting better. We are fortunate to have five Big Sky teams on our schedule this season which will help us prepare for 2006 and ultimately for 2007 when we can compete for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament."

The Bears' journey to Division I will include a new facility as the renovation of the Jackson Sports Complex, former home to the UNC football program, will be completed by August 2006.

"It will be great to have a soccer-specific stadium for our new home," said Barrera. "The addition of lights, permanent seating and team rooms will really make it a nice venue to play in."

A year ago, the Bears suffered through a tough season, winning only three games against a difficult schedule that featured the likes of Colorado, Nebraska and Washington State. In fact, 15 of the 18 teams the Bears played were ranked in the top-200 of the power rankings. Last year, 21 of the 27 rostered players were underclassmen and 94 percent of the goals scored came off the foot of a freshman or sophomore. The youth of the team has given most of the players the chance to perform and improve, which only benefits the team as they join the Big Sky Conference.

Junior Chrissy Marvin made 123 saves in 2004.

"It has certainly been a learning experience for our young team," said Barrera about the youth movement. "Those players will be veterans when we move into our new conference and that should really benefit our program."

One of the areas the Bears have benefited from youthful improvement is at goalkeeper. Last season, sophomore Chrissy Marvin was thrust into action with no career starts and only 45 total minutes of collegiate playing time under her belt. But giving her the nod as the starting keeper proved to be a good decision as Marvin made 123 saves (only three off the school record) and ranked 19th nationally in saves/game (6.83). She impressed the coaching staff and fans alike with her huge left foot, as her kicks often traveled three-fourths the length of the field. She made the best of several free kick opportunities from near midfield, as she assisted on two goals, ranking her second on the team. Laura Knudsen, the lone senior on this year's team, and freshman Dana Garrett round out the roster. Knudsen did not see game action a year ago but played in one game each her freshman and sophomore seasons. Garrett was an all-state honorable mention selection last year at Golden High School.

"Chrissy continues to improve and will benefit from a very busy first year as a starter," Barrera said. "Chrissy is a good shot-stopper who is also very good with her feet as she recorded two assists last year. Laura is one of our veterans and is a great team player and Dana will help give us depth at the keeper position and vie for playing time."

Having Marvin in-goal will help buoy the Bears' defenders who are young, but experienced. Northern Colorado lost a pair of tri-captains from a year ago in Carol Devaney and Kristel Lohmann, a duo that played in a combined 99 games over the past four years. Anchoring the defense is junior Lindsey Phillips, who started 20 of the 27 games she has played in over the past three years. Unfortunately for Phillips, injuries have played a factor in two of her first three seasons, ending her freshman season after three contests and last year after just eight games. Joining Phillips in the back are three players - Kerry Pitt, Whitney Salter and Megan Miller - who were basically starters from day one of their collegiate career. Pitt was UNC's ironwoman, playing nearly every minute of every match. She missed two games due to an injury and came out of the second half at Baylor due to sickness, but played every other minute of every other game the rest of the season (1,491:26 minutes). She earned Division I All-Independent second-team honors for her performance. Salter started 15 of the Bears' 18 games in 2004, while Miller started 12 times. Miller, who can also play in the midfield, scored a pair of goals as a freshman. Another player entering her sophomore year, Kayla Oakley, started four times and played in 16 games overall; she returns in the back. Two other sophomores, Katie Seno and Annie Osborne, are also in the mix this year. Seno scored a goal last fall and Osborne was a starter in the back during the spring season.

Kerry Pitt was a second-team D-I All-Independent pick as a freshman in 2004.

That group is joined by five newcomers to round out the defenders. Hawaii native Erin Kikumoto is one of three "Aloha State" natives on the roster, all of whom are entering their freshmen seasons. Kikumoto was her conference player of the year as a senior and a first-team all-state selection in each of her last two seasons at Mililani High. She is joined by another Mililani native, Jordan Weeks, who was a second-team all-state selection as a junior before missing her senior prep season with an injury, which is now fully-healed. In-state standout Alysha Beckie led her Mullen High team to the state finals in 2003, where they lost to Greeley West and fellow in-coming freshman Krista Walters. Brittni Biren, a Arvada West product, rounds of the defenders.

"We started four freshmen in the spring and that group came together quite well," Barrera said. "With everyone healthy and some strong newcomers, we are very excited about our back four."

If the Bears' goalkeepers and defenders prevent opponents from scoring, it will be the midfield that helps get the UNC offensive attack going. The group is led by Northern Colorado's co-captains, juniors Chelsey Ekenberg and Laura Hassebroek. Ekenberg has been the Bears' most consistent offensive threat the past two seasons, leading the team in goals each year (five goals apiece). She also led the team in assists (4) last season and was the only Bear represented on the Division I All-Independent first-team. Hassebroek, a D-I All-Independent honorable mention choice, has started all 33 games in which she has played in college (out of 34 total contests). She followed up a three-goal, one-assist performance as a freshman with one goal and an assist last season. The third returning starter in the midfield is sophomore Megan Bellendir who started 11 games in 2004.

"Chelsey is a very good attacking player and Laura and `Belly' (Bellendir) are tough two-way players," Barrera said.

Junior Laura Hassebroek will serve as a co-captain in 2005.

Out-of-state freshmen Whitney Hawkins, Ashley Brumback and Patricia Wong will look to make immediate impacts in the midfield as well. Hawkins was a two-time all-region selection in Nevada and earned her team MVP honors. Brumback was a third-team all-state selection and helped her team to three league championships and a runner-up finish at the Oregon state tournament. Wong earned honorable mention all-state honors at Iolani High in Honolulu and played club soccer with current UNC teammate Kikumoto. The last newcomer is redshirt freshman Ashley Eaton, who will most likely miss the season with an injury.

"Brumback reminds me a lot of Bellendir for her work rate and tackling ability," Barrera said. "Wong is a solid all-around player that is good in the air. Hawkins will be one of our fastest players; she has a tremendous work rate and will add an attacking dimension to our midfield. Overall, the midfield position will be one of our strengths because of the returning experience. We lost Cassie Sadusky from last year's team, but with a talented group of players back and our solid newcomers, we will look for that to lead us this season."

Up front, the Bears will need to increase its scoring punch to compete against the tough Division I schedule on tap. Northern Colorado scored only 17 goals last season (its lowest total since 1993) and were shutout a program-record eight times. They also lost the services of scoring threat Raegan McHugh, who graduated.

"The forward position will probably be the most competitive," Barrera said. "We struggled to score goals last year with the schedule we played. We are excited about the group of players who will compete for playing time this season."

Junior Kady Hydrick will be one of the Bears goal-scoring threats this year.

Leading the charge is a pair of returning starters in Marika Johnson and Kady Hydrick. Johnson made an immediate impact last season, heading in a goal in the Bears' first home game (Aug. 31 vs. Eastern Washington) and leading the team's offensive attack at the Best Western Regency Northern Colorado Classic. Her goal in that event snapped a long scoreless streak for the team, helped the Bears to the tournament championship and earned her MVP honors. Hydrick shared the team lead in points as a freshman (14) when she scored four goals and assisted on six scores. Last season, she started all 17 games in which she played and managed one assist.

"Marika had some injury issues as a freshman but still scored some important goals for us," Barrera said. "Kady has been a very consistent player for us and we look for her to score a lot of goals in 2005."

Also returning are a pair of juniors, Audrey Rich (the team's most improved award-winner last year) and Natalie Askins. The forwards are rounded out by a trio of freshmen, Jessica Daves, Teresa Prais and Jessica Zimmerman, all of who should prove to be immediate scoring threats. Daves was a team captain at Chaparral High in Parker, Colo., Prais was a first-team all-state selection and led her team to the state finals in Iowa and Zimmerman was the CHSAA 4A Player of the Year in Colorado. Zimmerman, one of the top scoring products to come out of Greeley in recent memory, scored 108 goals in her four-year career, including 38 her senior year (a mark which led her state classification).

"The three players we signed for this season are all very good," Barrera said. "Daves is a true playmaker, Prais is a tremendous athlete who can score and Zimmerman is a true-goal scorer. We will look to these newcomers and our returnees in bolstering our offensive attack this season."

If the Bears' newcomers come along as expected, the team should have the needed firepower to compete against another tough schedule. The schedule features five regular season home contests, four of which are stacked together at the beginning of the season. After a pair of exhibitions to open the year, the Bears play the first three regular season games at home and four of its first six at home. The schedule also includes five of the seven Big Sky Conference teams, defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Drake, a pair of Division I Independent rivals in North Dakota State and South Dakota State, Wyoming (who defeated the Bears 1-0 with six seconds left in double overtime last season) and Colorado, who comes to Greeley for the first time ever.

"We are excited by the schedule we have put together for this season," said Barrera. "We are still on the road quite a bit, but it gives us the opportunity to become familiar with a number of our future Big Sky opponents. Overall, it is very competitive, but this season it includes only one of the seven top-100 opponents we played a year ago."

Sophomore Marika Johnson scored a pair of goals during her freshman season.

Since the schedule favors the Bears more this season than a year ago, UNC is looking to improve on its three-win total from 2004. Although the Bears won only three times, they were in most every contest as six of their 13 losses came by one goal and nine of the 13 losses were by two goals or less. With a more potent offense this season, the Bears should be back above the .500 mark for the first time since 2002 (and avoid three consecutive losing seasons - something that has not happened in the 20-year history of the program).

"We had a good spring and have added some players that will make us better right away," Barrera said. "Every game will be a battle and our players are prepared to compete in those contests. We need to be able to score goals this season and if we do we should be successful."