Nobody knows that better than second-year Ohio Wesleyan University women’s soccer coach Bob Barnes. Last season, his Battling Bishops won all the North Coast Athletic Conference games in which they scored — unfortunately, that represented just 3 of their 8 league games, and the Bishops slid to sixth place in the final conference standings.

Barnes welcomes back 4 starters and 9 letterwomen from last year’s team, which compiled a 10-8 overall record, and will look to a potentially outstanding freshman class to help bring Ohio Wesleyan back into NCAC championship contention.

Defense should again be the Bishops’ backbone, with a pair of all-conference performers in sophomores Emmy Bradford (Sunbury/Big Walnut) and Abby Jenkins (Beavercreek/Carroll) returning to anchor the back line. Bradford ranked second on the team in scoring last season and was an honorable mention all-conference pick, while Jenkins earned second-team All-NCAC laurels. Junior Natalie Schillo (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Heights), who started 7 games last season, should take over one open spot, while freshmen Jayme Derbyshire (McLean, Va./Madeira School), Alexis Dunfee (Edwardsburg, Mich./John Adams (Ind.)) and Kaitlin Manry (Mt. Airy, Md./Linganore) duel for the other.

The midfield, with only one returning starter, looms as the Bishops’ big question mark this season. Junior Becky Witte (Pleasant Hill, Calif./College Park) ranked third on the team in scoring last year with 5 goals and 2 assists. Junior Lanie Hunt (Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y./Cornwall Central) also returns. Freshmen Katie Buchert (Middletown), Megan Forman (Sunbury/Big Walnut) and Kristie Valentine (Canton/Jackson) all will see considerable action early in the season.

Junior Erin Mavko (Dublin/Coffman) and sophomore Julie Freyermuth (Plymouth, Mass./North), both part-time starters at forward last year, will be early favorites to claim starting jobs this season. Sophomore Carin Lloyd (Clarkston, Mich.) also returns.

Freshmen Erin Croasmun (Ventura, Calif./St. Bonaventure) and Katy Sturtz (Worthington/Columbus Watterson), both all-state selections last season, could step in and contribute immediately.

Barnes also has big shoes to fill in the Bishop goal with the graduation of 4-year starter Sandra DeWitt, who capped her career with first-team All-NCAC honors last year — her fourth straight all-conference citation. Sophomore Rachael Survoy (Medina/Senior) found her niche as a backup goalkeeper last season but will be locked in a battle with freshmen Alison Mumaw (Mansfield/Lexington), Becky Osborne (Sandy Hook, Conn./Newtown) and Gretchen Randolph (Washington, D.C./Maret School) for the starting nod.

Ohio Wesleyan faces another challenging schedule, kicking off by facing 1997 American Mideast Conference champion Tiffin. Then comes the Bishop-Big Red Invitational, featuring 1997 Ohio Athletic Conference runner-up Heidelberg and 1997 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Principia. Games with 1997 Ohio Athletic Conference champion Capital and 1997 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion Calvin dot the remainder of the non-conference schedule. The always-competitive NCAC season opens in late September, with games with defending champion Denison; 1997 runner-up Allegheny, who won 18 games last year; traditional arch-rival Wittenberg and always-competitive Wooster highlighting that portion of the schedule.

The question now facing Ohio Wesleyan University women’s soccer coach Bob Barnes is “How do you top that?” 

Last season’s Battling Bishop squad was the highest-scoring team in school history. Ohio Wesleyan missed out on the North Coast Athletic Conference championship by a single point in the standings, but came back to win its first 2 playoff games and take defending regional champion Washington into overtime in the Great Lakes Regional title game. 

Barnes welcomes back 10 starters and 15 letterwomen from last year’s team and adds 2 more players with starting experience from his 1997 team. They will look to build on Ohio Wesleyan’s 19-3 overall record and improve on the Bishops’ preseason ranking of No. 15 in the NSCAA Division III poll. 

Sophomore Katy Sturtz (Worthington/Columbus Watterson) led NCAA Division III players in scoring last season, piling up a school- and NCAC-record 43 goals on the way to first-team All-America honors. She and classmate Erin Croasmun (Ventura, Calif./St. Bonaventure), who ranked second on the team in scoring and received honorable mention all-conference laurels, give the Bishops a potent 1-2 punch. Senior Erin Mavko (Dublin/Coffman), who racked up 13 assists last year, returns as the playmaker. Junior Carin Lloyd (Clarkston, Mich.) also returns, and freshman Emily Bayer (Medina) also will contribute.

Senior Becky Witte (Pleasant Hill, Calif./College Park), a first-team All-NCAC selection last year, anchors the midfield. Sophomore Megan Forman (Sunbury/Big Walnut) also returns, and junior Kelly Vorenkamp (Brutus, Mich./Petoskey), a starter in 1997 who spent last season away from Ohio Wesleyan, should reclaim her starting spot. Also in the mix will be senior Lanie Hunt (Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y./Cornwall Central), who was a spot starter last season; sophomore Alison Mumaw (Mansfield/Lexington), who started in goal last season but returns to her natural midfield spot this year; sophomore Kaitlin Manry (Mt. Airy, Md./Linganore); and freshman Lindsey Bland (Columbus/Hilliard Darby). 

The Bishop defense should again be solid, with a trio of all-conference performers in juniors Emmy Bradford (Sunbury/Big Walnut) and Abby Jenkins (Beavercreek/Carroll) and sophomore Katie Buchert (Middletown) returning to anchor the back line. Bradford also was an offensive threat, compiling 4 goals and 6 assists, but it was Jenkins who supplied the biggest goal from the backfield last year, scoring in the final 2 minutes of regulation time to beat Kalamazoo and send the Bishops into the regional championship game. Senior Natalie Schillo (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) was a spot starter last season but will have to hold off challenges from freshmen Molly Brown (Fitzwilliam, N.H./St, Bernards (Mass.)), Bre Cady (Westerville/South), Jamie Jenkins (Beavercreek/Carroll) and Jennifer Preston (Newbury Park, Calif.). 

Mumaw’s move to the midfield leaves Barnes with a vacancy to fill in the Bishop goal. Junior Maggie Meagher (Winchester, Mass./Williston-Northampton), who started 2 games in 1997 but did not play last year, and sophomore Becky Osborne (Sandy Hook, Conn./Newtown), who missed last season with a knee injury, will duel for the starting nod. 

Ohio Wesleyan faces another challenging schedule, kicking off by facing Capital, who won the Ohio Athletic Conference title in 1997 and was runner-up in 1998. Then comes the Bishop-Big Red Invitational, featuring Hope and John Carroll, followed by contests with perennial Ohio Athletic Conference contender Heidelberg and 2-time defending American Mideast Conference champion Tiffin. Dates with 1998 Heartland Conference co-champion Wilmington and 1997 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion Calvin dot the remainder of the non-conference schedule. The always-competitive NCAC season opens in early October, with games with defending champion Denison, perennial powerhouse Allegheny, traditional arch-rival Wittenberg and emerging contender Earlham highlighting that portion of the schedule..
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