Scots working on a season to remember

  • By Brian Questel of the Wooster Weekly News
  • October 12, 2009
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College of Wooster women’s soccer coach Dave Brown has enjoyed a marked level of success, winning a trio of North Coast Athletic Conference titles and finishing runner-up twice during his 19 years at the school. While winning isn’t new to the program, as Wooster is 119-50-16 since 1999, the Scots are looking to add to their accomplishments this season as they are off to an 8-0-3 start. That is the longest unbeaten streak to begin a season in school history, and the Scots are ranked sixth in the Great Lakes Region as a result, trailing Wittenberg (No. 3) but ahead of Denison (No. 8). After going 14-6 (5-3 NCAC) last year and finishing runner-up in the NCAC tournament, Wooster was a preseason fourth-place pick in the conference behind defending regular-season champion Denison, Wittenberg and Ohio Wesleyan. Witt won the NCAC tournament title for the third consecutive season last year, beating Wooster 1-0 in double overtime after the Scots upset Denison 1-0 in the semifinals. Wooster, though, was the lone unbeaten conference team entering NCAC play this season. Its opener carried immediate conference weight since it hosted Wittenberg, which was 5-1-3 entering its NCAC opener against Ohio Wesleyan and the Tigers had posted eight shutouts to begin the year, other than a 2-0 loss to Capital. While Brown certainly didn’t expect an unbeaten start through Wooster’s non-conference schedule, he wasn’t shocked to witness the Scots’ start. “We hoped we’d be competitive and successful in most of our games,” said Brown, who has seen his team outscore its opponents 27-8 through 10 games and post four shutouts. “We’ve been able to beat the teams we were supposed to beat, but we haven’t done anything outstanding yet.” The key to the season thus far, said Brown, has been Wooster’s “deep squad.” “We’ve been able to bring players off the bench and maintain the quality of play,” he said. “We have a good group of young players who are talented, technical and play quickly. “That all goes together … and we work hard to get the ball back if we lose it and we work hard to keep it when we have it.” Wooster has performed well whether it has played on grass or carpet, which is important if it has championship aspirations. While not looking beyond its NCAC opener, Brown certainly has an eye on that hardware and the NCAA postseason berth that will accompany it. “You have to go play for championships and work for them,” said Brown. “You need to position yourself and make your luck to get the bounces and the calls to go your way. “We had a terrific run at the end of last season. We were in a playoff mode the last 4-5 games because we had to win every game,” he added. “Some of that has carried over. We have a core group that has that mentality to play in the moment and not look too far ahead.” Wooster certainly can look ahead in one sense, as 23 of its 29 rostered players are freshmen or sophomores. “We have a good group of upper-class players … and our captains are very influential being that we are a young team,” said Brown, reflecting on senior middie Chantal Koechli (3 goals, 2 assists), classmate Nora Simon (defender/midfielder), junior forward Liz Mott, who is Wooster’s leading scorer with six goals, and classmate Kerry Kiley (defender). “We have a good group of sophomores who play a lot and are a big strength, and some talented first-years who are making an impression … and we have a freshman starting goalkeeper.” While Wooster has shown an ability to finish, it is key that it finishes off its NCAC opponents to position itself for the postseason. “We have a good team going forward,” said Brown. “We have the ability to finish … and our defense needs to continue to jell and keep opponents’ chances to a minimum. If they score, we have to make sure it is a great shot and not because we made a mistake.” And while Denison and Witt may carry a larger bull’s-eye, the Scots have one of their own after their start and Brown knows that they won’t be sneaking up on anyone. “The bigger the target on our back, the bigger the game becomes,” said Brown. “We have to raise our game a level.” The Scots have been able to do that so far. If they can continue on that path, the 2009 campaign will be a memory-maker.


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