Scranton, PA – Marywood University Head Women’s Soccer Coach Andrew Smith has recently announced the team’s captains for the upcoming 2010 season and has announced an 18-game slate for the 2010 season. Fellow senior Leslie Higham will join returning captains Andrea Barker and Meghan Coyle as the trio will attempt to lead the Pacers to the 2010 CSAC Championship and back to the NCAA tournament.
Barker (Binghamton, NY) recently completed her third outstanding season for the Pacers, captaining Marywood to a 14-3-1 mark (9-0-1 CSAC). Barker was named to the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Third Team All-Region a year after garnering NSCAA Second Team honors as a defender. Named to the First Team All-Conference squad the past two seasons, Barker was named the CSAC Co-Player of the Year in 2008. A standout in the classroom as well as on the field, Barker, an English and Secondary Education major, was named to the 2009 NSCAA College Scholar All-East Region Second Team and is a three-time conference All-Academic selection.
Coyle (Endicott, NY) has enjoyed one of the finest careers ever by a Marywood goalkeeper. Coyle already owns career records for shutouts (21), goals-against average (0.92), and save percentage (.830) while also setting program-bests in consecutive scoreless minutes and shutouts in a season. Named a First Team All-Conference selection in 2009, Coyle was named the CSAC Tournament MVP after backstopping Marywood’s run to its first-ever conference championship and NCAA berth in 2008. An Elementary and Special Education major, Coyle was named to the CSAC All-Academic squad both of the last two years.
Leslie Higham (North Brunswick, NJ) joins Barker and Coyle after three strong years leading the Pacers’ midfield. Higham, also a senior, is a Marketing major and has played in 56 of Marywood’s 57 games during her career. Missing just one game during her freshman year, Higham started in all but two of Marywood’s games since her sophomore year, including all 18 during her junior year. A All-CSAC Honorable Mention selection in 2009, Higham has four goals and two assists to her credit but is recognized mostly for her defensive work and for winning 50/50 balls.
“I truly believe these three young ladies will keep the entire team focused on our only goal for 2010 – reclaiming the CSAC Championship and returning to the NCAA tournament” Smith said. “Each brings their own unique leadership style to the team and I think Leslie will mesh well with both Andrea and Meghan and all three will be well respected by their peers.”
In addition to announcing captains for the upcoming season, Coach Smith announced an 18-game regular season schedule which includes eight home games, three of which will be played under the lights.
Marywood will open CSAC play with a tough three-game stretch against teams that finished the CSAC regular season in second, third and fourth place. The Pacers will open league play with Gwynedd-Mercy, the Pacers’ semifinal opponent in 2009, on September 21st. Marywood will then travel to Radnor to face defending CSAC Champion Cabrini College on September 22 before returning home to square off with Centenary on September 29. “Playing three of the top teams in the Conference this early in the season will have its advantages and disadvantages” Smith said. “On the one hand, you get them out of the way and then can sit back and watch the results unfold the rest of the season. On the other, you better be ready to play early in the season because losses that early can come back and haunt you come playoff time.”
Prior to CSAC play, Marywood has a tough six-game non-conference schedule and has added NCAA tournament Elite Eight participant Ithaca College to the mix. The Bombers will likely be ranked in the top-10 in the country when the Pacers travel to Ithaca on September 8. Marywood will also be playing Utica College (NY) for the first time when they return to the season opening Erinn K. Brozman Cup at Hartwick College and will play Wilkes, Hartwick, Misericordia and Delaware Valley before facing GMC. The Pacers will also face off against Kean University (NJ) for the first time after having scrimmaged them for several years and have added King’s College back into the mix for two non-conference games mid-season.
“I believe our schedule provides us with some quality non-conference competition which should not only get us ready for the top teams in our conference but it should also prepare us for the quality of competition we would face in the NCAA tournament should we advance” Smith said.
Over the last three years, Marywood has gone 38-11-8 (.737) with a 24-2-4 (.867) mark in CSAC action. The Pacers won the Conference Title in 2008 and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history and followed up with a 2009 CSAC Runner-Up finish.
To view the complete 2010 women’s soccer schedule, click here.