2012 Women's Soccer Season Preview

AURORA, N.Y. – The Wells College women's soccer program opens their season this Friday, Aug. 31 as they host the visiting Giants of Keystone College in a 4:00 p.m. tilt at home. Head Coach Jamie Trudeau, a 2003 graduate of Chowan College, enters her second season with the program and is looking to build upon last year's successful results. This season, Trudeau is assisted by Amber Harmatuk, a 2008 graduate of Oswego State University.

The Express will have the luxury of opening their season with six-straight home contests, including back-to-back conference tilts with Penn State Berks and Penn State Abington on Saturday, Sept. 8 and Sunday, Sept. 9, respectively. In total, 12 of the team's 19 games will be at home and the team will look to use that to their advantage throughout the three month schedule.

The team returns a strong roster of players just one season removed from nearly qualifying for the postseason. Toward the end of the season last year, one goal losses down the stretch prevented the team from taking the next step and competing in the postseason. Trudeau has selected seniors Paige Stone (Madison, N.Y.), Lauren Dunster (Auburn, N.Y.) and sophomore Shannon Blanford (Fayetteville, N.Y.) as her triumvirate of captains, asking them to guide a roster with more new faces than old.

Stone and Blanford found themselves listed within the top-100 players in goals per game amongst Division III student-athletes last season and will seek to continue their string of strong performances into their senior seasons. Dunster, a back, will lead the team's young defenders as they play in front of a rookie goaltender.

FORWARDS

Stone scored 19 goals and seven assists last season as a junior, ranking 16th amongst all Division III women's soccer players with 2.5 points per game, on average. Additionally, her goals per game (1.056), total points (28) and total goals (21) ranked her 17th, 18th and 21st, respectively, on a national scale.

Blanford, a native of Fayetteville, N.Y., scored 14 goals and 10 assists as a freshman in 2011, ranking first on the team in assists. Nationally, Blanford ranked 31st in assists per game (.56), 43rd in points per game (2.11), 68th in goals per game (68).

Freshmen Gianna Kerr (Branford, Conn.) and Sara Rocker (Scipio Center, N.Y.), each late additions to the roster this past August, join both captains listed as forwards.

MIDFIELDERS

Five different players will comprise the midfield for Trudeau, including upperclassman junior Chelsey Martinelli (Chichester, N.H.). A native of the Granite State, Martinelli was a four-sport athlete at Pembroke Academy while captaining her soccer team. Sophomore Savannah Tucker (Rochester, N.Y.) played in 18 games as a freshman for the Express, scoring two goals on the season. Tucker forced home her first collegiate goal against Penn State Harrisburg on Sept. 24, 2011.

Freshmen Dayna Vibbard (Edmeston, N.Y.), Karley Raczynski (Fonda, N.Y.) and Heather Hiltbrand (Fayetteville, N.Y.) will contribute youth to the midfield situation this fall. Vibbard, the sister of Juli Vibbard '12, played three sports for the Panthers of Edmeston Central High School and earned the Triple Threat Award three separate times. Raczynski, also a three-sport athlete, is a 2012 graduate of Fonda-Fultonville High School while Hiltbrand earned NYSSHA Scholar-Athlete recognition as a two-sport athlete at East Syracuse Minoa High School.

DEFENSE AND GOALKEEPING

Six different players are listed as backs for Wells College, including senior defender Kelly Cornwell (Caledonia, N.Y.). Last season, Cornwell saw action in 17 games for the Express on defense and will join Dunster as a fellow senior defender. Junior Lindsey Bush (Averill Park, N.Y.) comes to Wells as a 2010 graduate of Averill Park High School and graduated in the top-25 of her class. A three-sport athlete, Bush joins freshman Rachel Ronkowski (Sacramento, Calif.) in the backfield. Ronkowski played both soccer and tennis for the Pirates of NP3 High School and also won the Most Valuable Player award as a freshman.

Freshman back Kaylie Benjamin (Waterloo, N.Y.) rounds out the defense, having graduated from Waterloo Senior High School in 2012. She played soccer, lacrosse and indoor track for the Indians and brings athleticism to the Express defense.

Junior Ashley Roser (Taberg, N.Y.), a rookie goalkeeper from Camden High School, will serve as the primary goaltender for the Express this year. Roser, a two-year member of the women's basketball team, joins the women's soccer team after earning numerous awards for the Express hoops team, including Division III News Women's Basketball Preseason All-American, 2011-12 North Eastern Athletic Conference First Team All-Conference recognition and three separate NEAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors.

For the latest news regarding the women's soccer program at Wells College, bookmark the team's home page by using the following link: http://www.wells-express.com/sports/wsoc/index.

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