2011 Women's Soccer Preview
Sixth-year head coach Damian Houlden and the Mitchell College women's soccer team will have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to relive their dream season from a year ago.
The Mariners are coming off a season in which they won the 2010 NECC Championship and qualified for the NCAA Championship for the first time in school history. Mitchell (10-8-1, 6-1-1 NECC) upended top-seeded Lesley University in the NECC title game to punch its NCAA ticket and went on to face regional power Wheaton College in the first round.
Houlden returns the core of last year's team with hopes of successfully defending the title. Of the 16 returning letterwinners, nine were starters on last season's team. The Mariners will also be an experienced squad as the roster is stocked with eight seniors.
Leading the way on the offensive end is 2010 NECC Player of the Year Nikki Hoxie, a three-year starter at forward who has 35 career goals and is a threat to join the Mitchell 100-point club this season. Last year she scored in every conference game and finished with 11 goals and two assists for 24 points.
Helping the cause will be seniors Leslie Briggs, Shannen Pelletier and Angie Smith. Briggs, an all-conference second team selection, led the team with seven assists last season and added four goals. Pelletier and Smith both patrolled the midfield and set up the Mitchell attack. Pelletier finished the year with three goals and two assists while Smith tacked on a pair of goals and three assists.
Senior Melissa Coe, junior Malorie Klieber and sophomore Nina Giansanti return to shore up the defensive unit. Sophomore goalkeeper Kaylee Woodford will also be back between the posts. As a rookie last season, Woodford (1.60 GAA) was one of the top net-minders in the conference and garnered All-NECC Second Team honors.
The 2011 season kicks off with a home match against Rhode Island College on September 10, the first of 15 regular season contests for the Mariners. Mitchell will also play non-conference dates against Albertus Magnus College, Coast Guard Academy, Eastern Nazarene College, UMass Dartmouth and Saint Joseph College (CT).
Conference play begins on October 1 at NECC newcomer Regis College. The nine-game NECC schedule concludes at home against Becker College on October 29, and six of the 10 teams in the league will qualify for the 2011 NECC Championship. The title game will be held at the site of the highest remaining seed on November 5, and the winner will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
