SMWC Soccer team ready for a successful season
Posted on: 09/12
By Danya Long
With some new faces on the roster and on the coaching staff, the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) soccer team is ready for a successful season.
With 14 returning players, the soccer team has plenty of experience on the field. In addition to those returning players, Head Coach Mike Aycock has recruited another five freshmen to add to his roster. Alex Amos from Sarasota, Fla., Jessica Black from Pinckney, Mich., Ashlee Hershman from Lafayette, Ind., Kayla Leuthold from Lafayette, Ind., and Leaerin Deal from West Terre Haute, Ind., are all ready for their first season as a part of the SMWC soccer team.
“Although we have only had practices, I really enjoy everything we do and everyone on the team,” said Jessica Black, a midfielder for the team.
Leaerin Moore, a midfielder and forward, agrees.
“We seem like we will be coming together awesome by the beginning of the season,” Moore said.
The returning players are just as excited about their chances for success this season. Sophomore Brittany Simmerman, a midfielder from Bedford, Ind., has already learned a lot about the team this year.
“So far, the team is looking to be a very power-packed, high-intensity unit. The freshmen have all stepped up and started gelling with the returners and everyone has stepped up the level of play from last year,” Simmerman said.
Leading the team this year as seniors are Lauren Sullivan from Terre Haute, Ind., Erin Phelps from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Sarah Addison from Clinton, Ind. These seniors look forward to making their last year on the team one of the best, but some expect that the end will be bittersweet.
“Being a senior is slightly sad because I know my time at SMWC is almost over,” Phelps said.
The assistant coaching position has also seen a change since last soccer season. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods graduate Cassie Phegley has joined the coaching staff to work with Aycock, her own soccer coach that trained her just last year.
Aycock looks to lead his team to a successful season. As always, the national tournament is a goal of not only the team, but also the coach.
“We have a good enough team to get a bid to nationals now. However, we have one of the hardest schedules in the USCAA,” Aycock said. “All the hard work and training the girls have put in for the last few months will soon be put to the test. I’m optimistic that good things will happen.”
The SMWC soccer field is located on the north side of the College’s campus, northwest of Providence Center. To see this season’s soccer schedule and roster, visit www.smwc.edu/athletics/soccer. For more information about the soccer team at SMWC, contact Head Coach Mike Aycock at maycock@smwc.edu.
