2021 Spring Women's Soccer Notebook (Week 1)

COMING UP: at Northwest Nazarene, Friday, 6 p.m.; at Idaho State, Sunday, 1 p.m.

COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
  
GAME COVERAGE: Live Video on Friday will be on Vimeo and Live Stats will be on the NNU SIDEARM Stats Portal. There will be no Live Video of the match at ISU, however Live Stats will be on the Bengals SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
ABOUT NORTHWEST NAZARENE: NNU finished 2019 with a 6-10-2 record. Leading scorer Rikki Myers returns to lead the way for the Nighthawks after scoring eight goals and assisting on two others in the 2019 campaign. Starting keeper Alexis Montoya (1.47 GAA, 114 saves) is also back to provide stability on the back end of the defense.
 
ABOUT IDAHO STATE: The Bengals enter the second season under head coach Debs Brereton with a roster featuring eight new signings. Of the returners, forward Michaela Didericksen (4 goals, 2 assists) paces the offensive attack, while Karlin Wurlitzer (2 goals, 3 assists) and Lauren McGahie (2 goals, 1 assist)  are key returners on the back end. ISU is looking to replace goalkeeper Katie Hogarth, who played every minute in the net a year ago.
 
CONFERENCE FORMAT CHANGES: Since the preseason poll was released, the CCC has changed formats to feature an East Division and a West Division, with Carroll, Providence, Rocky Mountain, Eastern Oregon, College of Idaho and Multnomah in the East and Warner Pacific, Corban, Southern Oregon, Northwest, Bushnell and Oregon Tech in the West. The top teams at the end of the regular season in each division will receive an automatic qualifier to the NAIA Championships.
 
SEASON PREVIEW - GOALKEEPERS: Overall, 13 of the 17 opponents that C of I faced last season were held scoreless or to one goal, keeping the team in every match throughout the year. In the net this season, senior Kylee Atkins and junior Shae Waters each return, along with sophomore Hannah McFadden. Atkins served as the primary goalie in 2019, starting 14 times and finishing with a 0.87 goals against average while saving 68 shots. Waters appeared in eight matches and made three starts, allowing just two goals in 400 minutes of action. She saved 16 shots and finished with a miniscule 0.45 goals against average. McFadden filled a need as a forward late in her freshman season, but has returned to her goalkeeper roots where Smith says she is a great trainer who will push the other two returners.
 
SEASON PREVIEW - DEFENDERS: In front of the net, C of I returns one of the top defensive lines in the CCC. The back end is led by senior Kaya Evans, a second-team All-Conference selection in 2019, and sophomore Brynna Herridge, who earned honorable mention All-Conference accolades as a freshman. As a team leader, Evans is as important of a piece as any on the roster. Smith says she sets the example well for her younger teammates. Sophomore Payton Mongelli, junior Payton Anderson and junior Alyssa Goff each return as well after all starting double-digit games a year ago. After a year in which the Yotes were as young as any team in the conference, the experience gained by that talented nucleus should start to pay off as early as this spring. Redshirt freshman Delaney Reed did not play last season due to injury, however the Capital High graduate is another player that the coaching staff is high on. Caldwell graduate Kylin Olsen and Central Washington transfer Sam Jorgenson are additional newcomers who will bring depth to the back end.

SEASON PREVIEW - FORWARDS: Players who scored 20 of the 26 goals for the Yotes last year return to provide quality depth and experience, with multiple new faces ready to step in and make an impact as well. Junior forward Madison Glascock led the squad on the attack in 2019, racking up five goals and contributing a pair of assists on her way to being named to the honorable mention All-Conference team. The expectation is that C of I will be a team that utilizes a committee approach to scoring goals. Senior Sydney Clements found the back of the net twice in her first season as a Yote and is joined by senior Brooklyn Ruwe (2 goals, 1 assist), sophomore Cheyanne Rede (2 goals), sophomore Kaitlyn Ramon (2 goals) and junior Laura Staropoli (1 goal) as returners on the front line who found the net last year. Senior Cameron Coyle had an assist in 2019 and is another experienced returner. The experience of the forward line is expected to be a key in creating an exciting style of play that leads to success. Teaming with that experience up front will be a pair of incoming freshmen and a transfer. Freshman Maddie Smith joins the Yotes from Lake City High where she earned second-team All-State honors as a senior. Fellow freshman Ashlyn Graham graduated from Eagle High early and has already joined the C of I program for the spring. On the transfer side up-front, junior forward Megan Wilkinson joins the Yotes from the Community Colleges of Spokane where she scored 15 goals and contributed 11 assists in two seasons.

SEASON PREVIEW - MIDFIELDERS: In addition to the front of the C of I attack, the coaching staff is excited about the talented midfield that is in place. Juniors Alexa Rierson (2 goals), Lexie Hibler (1 goal) and Gabby Corado are familiar faces on the pitch along with senior Mackenzie Malach (1 assist) and sophomores Chloe Teets (3 assists) and Lucy Moore. Each brings a strong ability to control the ball and distribute to teammates. Both Moore and Teets have displayed impressive growth since taking the field as freshmen. Portland sophomore transfer Lily Schlake returns to the Gem State after two years at the Division I level. Schlake prepped at Rocky Mountain High in Meridian where she earned first-team All-State honors twice in addition to taking home All-SIC accolades three times.

RECORD BOOK: Brian Smith became the winningest coach all-time for the women's soccer program with his 59th victory last year. Kylee Atkins ended the year in the Top-20 list in multiple single season categories including No. 20 in saves (68), No. 7 in save percentage (.850), No. 6 in goals against average (0.87), No. 11 in wins (6) and No. 19 in shutouts (2.5). Atkins and Shae Waters combined for the second-best season in the net in the categories of save percentage (.863) and goals against average (0.77).