HUNTINGDON, PA – For the second year in a row, the Juniata women's soccer team welcomed in a large freshman class. In 2014, 13 new faces joined the team and in 2015, there are nine more.
Head coach Scott McKenzie explained that having so many young players brings a lot of positive energy to the team but notes that there are challenges as well.
"When you have so many young players who are getting ready for their first or second intercollegiate experience, they're going to have very different stressers than upperclassmen," McKenzie said. "Communication and being able to talk them through it is important."
There to help the underclassmen adjust are several key veteran players. McKenzie said that the upperclassmen have been doing a great job of making sure that they're available to help mentor the younger players and getting them ready to go for the season.
Senior midfielder Emily Green (Maytown, PA / Donegal) is the Eagles leader in points from the 2014 season among returning players. Green totaled five points last year with two goals and one assist. Midfielders Michaela Lacek (New Tripoli, PA / Northwestern) and Devin Kos (Bellefonte, PA / Bellefonte Area) also return to strengthen Juniata's midfield.
Haley Briggs (Hanover, PA / South Western), Erin Mueller (Bedford, PA / Bedford), Shannon Kriz (Breinigsville, PA) and Kerry Leonard (Cockeysville, MD / Maryvale Prep) all return to the goalkeeper position in 2015 and joining them to add even more depth is freshman Maiya Mastovich (Johnstown, PA / Westmont Hilltop). Leading the group is Leonard, who was named to the All-Landmark Second Team and recorded 82 saves and five shutouts. In the 2014 finale, Leonard recorded 21 saves and earned Landmark Defensive Athlete of the Week honors. Juniata will look to the young goalkeeper again in 2015 as they aim to succeed in the conference.
The final senior, Sarah Rhodes (Bloomfield, NY / Bloomfield Central), returns to the Eagles after studying abroad last season. The forward/midfielder recorded six goals and totaled 13 points for Juniata in her sophomore campaign.
Over the summer, the team went to Ireland and they were able to take away much more than pictures and memories of the beautiful sites.
"Any time you can get a group of athletes to share experiences, they build bonds and bridges that will allow them to navigate throughout problems during the season," McKenzie said. "It brought us closer together and gave us more common bonds."
Juniata played in a few games while in Ireland and they were tested by teams that featured players from the national team, McKenzie said.
"We faced incredibly strong competition and were able to see our resiliency as a group," McKenzie said. "That's where we earned our stripes and learned the most."
That drive and ability to bounce back is something McKenzie believes will be extremely important this season. Juniata had a young team last year as well and there were many ties and one-goal decision games that just got away from the Eagles. This year, McKenzie said, they are focused on earning those wins.
"Winning is not something that you go out and do on a Tuesday," McKenzie said. "Winning is something that you go out and do the week before. You earn the right to win last week for something that you do this week."
The Eagles open up their season at home on Winton Hill against St. John Fisher at 2:30pm on Sept. 1.
