2016 WOMEN’S SOCCER
WOMEN’S SOCCER PREVIEW 2016
Spring Hill College women’s soccer head coach Allison Whitworth enters her first season at the helm of the Badgers with a young team in terms of numbers, but the heart of the squad features a cadre of experienced veterans. “Having a young team is a challenge for any new coach,” says Whitworth. “But in this case we are reestablishing a culture and creating a new identity for the program, so it’s not all bad. We want a core group of players who lead on and off the field. It’s my job to identify and lead that group.”
On the field, Whitworth wants an attacking offense that moves quickly and with purpose. “Scoring is fun,” she says. “You do that by attacking and denying the other team opportunities. We need to be organized and disciplined on defense. Defense sets up your offense.” Whitworth is also aware of just how good the competition is in the Gulf South Conference (GSC). “The GSC always features some of the top recruiting in Division II and it’s a physical conference,” she says. “In our case, naivety might be a blessing for our younger players, but we must establish our style of play early and we need to show growth. It takes time, but Badger teams have a reputation for always fighting hard and we’ll need that attitude again this year.”
For the Badger offense, junior Madison Camet of Kenner, La., is the leading returning scorer with six goals and four assists in 2015 while senior Darby Rasch of Madison, Ala., needs seven assists to tie the SHC career mark.
Junior Beryl Newchurch from Madison and sophomore Gabrielle Burmaster have impressed Whitworth in the early workouts. “Maddie is really accepting her leadership role and Gabby is learning more every day,” she says. Freshman midfielder Sydney DeJohn of Hoover, Ala., has also caught the coach’s attention. “Sydney has great spirit,” Whitworth says. “She’s a very vocal player and she is making our players better.” Fellow freshman midfielder Johanna Meister from Germany will make an immediate impact on the SHC offense. “Johanna is a very calm player,” Whitworth says. “She will have to adjust to the American college game, but she has a calmness about her that we need.” Senior Lillian DeSousa from Mary G. Montgomery High School in
Mobile found the back of the net twice last year while junior Shannon Gleespen of Hendersonville, Tenn., and freshman Alexandra Vallas from St. Luke’s Episcopal School in Mobile each look to make their contributions.
The midfield will feature four sophomores as Tatum Shacklett of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Kaelin Dull from Plano, Texas, join SarahBeth Hyde of Hattiesburg, Miss., and Melissa Schwartz from New Hyde Park, N.Y., as important cogs in the Badger transition game.
In defense, seniors Kait Eichorst of Cave Creek, Ariz., and Lauren Clement of Scottsdale, Ariz., have teamed with fellow senior Brittany McNair of Ocean Springs, Miss. “Our Arizona connection has good chemistry and it’s exciting to see what they bring each day,” says Whitworth. Juniors Becca Roth of O’Fallon, Mo., and Aiesha Ledda of Memphis, Tenn., will also work with sophomore Meagan Byrnes from Kansas City, Mo., to support the SHC defense. “Becca, Aiesha and Mimi all enhance our style of play and have the ability to shift us from defending and into the attack. Francesca Talotta (junior; Mobile) also keeps finding her way onto the field and making things happen, so it’s a fun battle to watch,” says Whitworth. Senior Jessica Keelen of Metairie, La., together with senior Audrey Sanchez of Miami, Fla., freshmen Julia Gielniak of Shelby Township, Mich., and Sabrina Sousa of Covington, La., will each add to Badger defensive depth this season.
Whitworth faces a tough decision when it comes to final piece to the puzzle of 2016. At goalkeeper, redshirt freshman Hannah Shankman of Alachua, Fla., is going head-to-head with freshman Kayla Beaston of Madera, Calif., for the starting role. “It’s always good to have to make tough choices,” says Whitworth. “It’s a good dilemma.”
The 2016 season will be the start of a new era in SHC women’s soccer and Whitworth is proud to lead it. “I’m really excited about this year,” she says. “Our players surprise me at each practice. They know what caliber of person they want here at Spring Hill and they want to leave a legacy. The team understands that we are here to develop the whole person and we want to be known for more than just athletics. This is a season of possibilities regardless of the results.”
COACHING STAFF
Allison Whitworth – Head Coach
Allison Whitworth was named the head coach of Spring Hill College women’s soccer in December 2015 following a successful three-year stint as the lead assistant/goalkeeper coach and recruiting coordinator with the Ohio University Bobcats in Athens, Ohio.
While at Ohio, Whitworth’s keepers tallied 322 saves with 10 shutouts over three seasons and in 2014 she joined the Region II Olympic Development Program staff as a goalkeeper coach for various events. The Bobcats placed two players on the Mid-America Conference All-Freshman Team over the past three seasons along with earning nine MAC All-Academic Team members in 2015. Since 2011, every team that Whitworth has coached has been awarded a NSCAA Team Academic Award.
As a recruiter for the Bobcats, Whitworth signed MAC All-Freshman Team member forward Steph Rowland who played in all 18 games for Ohio as a freshman during the 2015 season and led the team in five offensive categories, including goals (5), points (11), shots (33), shots on-goal (18) and shots on-goal percentage (.540) to set an Ohio record for freshman goals scored. Whitworth also recruited goalkeeper Vanessa Cordoba who earned the starting role for the Bobcats as a sophomore in 2015 after winning a gold medal at the Bolivarian Games with the U-20 Columbian National Team. Whitworth spent two seasons (2011-12) as an assistant coach/goalkeeper coach at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). During her time in Murfreesboro, the Blue Raiders went a combined 24-14-1 and recorded 14 shutouts. MTSU ended 2012 with the second-best record in school history, finishing with a 145-1 mark and claiming a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title. While at MTSU, Whitworth was responsible for recruiting goalkeeper Kelsey Brouwer who finished her career with the school record for career wins, finished second overall in career saves, first in career shutouts with 27 and was named the winner of the C-USA Spirit of Service Award in 2013.
Alex Greco – Assistant Coach
Greco joined the Spring Hill staff in 2016 as assistant coach following one year with the women’s team at Indiana University (IU) as a volunteer assistant coach. While at IU, Greco was a part of a coaching staff that saw a defensive scoreless streak of 463 minute that ranks second in school history. On the practice field, Greco coached all positions and held the responsibility of developing practice plans and game tactics. Off the field, Greco integrated video analysis and formulated scouting reports of opposing teams while also managing player health and performance through season periodization and analyzing player training loads. In the classroom, the IU team held a combined GPA over 3.5., earning the team the highest GPA in IU Athletics for Fall 2015 and 14 Academic All-Big Ten selections.
Greco joined the IU coaching staff as a volunteer assistant in 2015 season after spending the previous two years as a volunteer assistant at UNC Greensboro. In his second season with UNCG, Greco served as the goalkeepers coach, helping freshman Chloe Buehler earn Southern Conference (SoCon) All-Freshman accolades. He also worked individually with All-Conference players Georgia Brown, Rebecca Burrows and First Team All-Conference honoree Chesney White. In the spring of 2014, he also served as an interim assistant coach, helping the Spartans sign their recruiting class for the year.
Greco completed his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration as a dual-major in Entertainment Sports Promotional Management and Business Management at Northwood University (now Keiser University) in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he also competed as a student-athlete on the men’s soccer team.
GENERAL FACTS
Institution: Spring Hill College
City/State/Zip: Mobile, AL 36608
President: Christopher Puto, Ph.D.
Founded: 1830
Enrollment: 1,496
Nickname: Badgers
School Colors: Purple, white
School website: shc.edu/about
Home Facility: Library Field
Capacity: 500
Affiliation: NCAA Division II
Conference: Gulf South
Athletic Director: Jim Hall
Alma Mater: Grinnell College, 1995
Compliance: Chad LeBlanc
Senior Woman Administrator: Alison Sellers-Cook
Faculty Athletic Representative: Steven Almquist, Ph.D.
Athletic Department Phone: 251-380-3485
Athletic Department Fax: 251-460-2196
Sports Information Director: Jim Stennett
Alma Mater: Mississippi State, 1990
SID Phone: 251-380-4468
SID Email: jstennett@shc.edu
Athletic website: www.shcbadgers.com
Twitter: SHCBADGERS
Facebook: SHCBADGERS
Instagram: SHCBADGERS
COACHING STAFF
Head Coach: Allison Whitworth
Alma Mater: Auburn, 2007
Record at school: 0-0-0 (1st season)
Career record (women/men): 0-0-0 (1st season)
Office Phone: 251-380-4475
Best time/day to reach coach: 10 a.m.
Assistant Coach: Alex Greco (1st season)
Head Athletic Trainer: Brian Gronewold, ATC
Trainer’s Phone: 251-380-3493
TEAM INFORMATION
Overall Record Last Year: 3-11-3
Conference/Finish: 2-9-1 (12th of 13)
Final 2015 NCAA Ranking: n/a
Starters returning/lost: 7/4
2016 ROSTER
Hattiesburg, Miss./Sacred Heart Catholic HS
Melissa Schwartz FWD So 5-6 JV New Hyde Park, N.Y./New Hyde Park Memorial HS
24 Sydney DeJohn FWD Fr. 5-5 HS Hoover, Ala./Hoover HS
25 Brittany McNair DEF R-Sr. 5-3 1L Ocean Springs, Miss./Ocean Springs HS/Columbus State
26 Alexandra Vallas FWD Fr. 5-3 HS Mobile, Ala./St. Luke’s Episcopal School
27 Audrey Sanchez MF R-Jr. 5-0 JV Miami, Fla./American Heritage
RS Hannah Houseknecht MF Jr. 5-2 JV Mobile, Ala./W.P. Davidson HS
2015 RESULTS
Date Opponent
Sept. 4 at Northern State University Aberdeen, S.D. L; 1-2
Sept. 6 at Minnesota State-Moorhead Moorhead, Minn. T; 0-0 (2ot)
Sept. 11 at University of Montevallo Montevallo, Ala. T; 0-0 (2ot)
Sept. 13 *at University of West Georgia Carrollton, Ga. L; 1-7
Sept. 19 *University of West Florida Library Field L; 0-5
Sept. 25 *at Christian Brothers University Memphis, Tenn. L; 1-4
Sept. 27 *at Union University (Tenn.) Jackson, Tenn. L; 0-3
Oct. 2 *Shorter University Library Field W; 3-0
Oct. 4 *Lee University Library Field L; 1-3
Oct. 8 *at University of North Alabama Florence, Ala. L; 0-5
Oct. 11 *Valdosta State University
Library Field T; 2-2 (2ot)
Oct. 16 *at University of West Alabama Livingston, Ala. L; 0-1
Oct. 18 *at University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, Ala. L; 0-3
Oct. 23 *Mississippi College Library Field L; 0-2
Oct. 25 *Delta State University
Library Field W; 3-2
Oct. 29 University of Tampa Library Field L; 2-3 (2ot)
Nov. 6 Southern Wesleyan University Library Field W; 4-1
* GSC matches
2015 GSC FINAL STANDINGS
Team
North
10-2 15-3-2 Lee 10-2 11-5-4
West Florida 9-3 15-5-1
West Alabama 8-3-1 10-6-2
Miss. College* 7-3-2 14-3-5
West Georgia 7-4-1 9-7-2
Christian Bros 6-5-1 10-7-1
Union 4-7-1 4-13-1
Shorter 4-8 7-10
Valdosta State 3-7-2 4-10-3
Alabama Huntsville 3-8-1 6-9-2
Spring Hill* 2-9-1 3-11-3
Delta State 0-12 3-13-1
*Not eligible for the GSC Tournament during reclassification process
2016 SCHEDULE
Date
Aug. 26 University of Mobile (Exhibition)
Sept. 1 at Palm Beach Atlantic University
Sept. 3 vs. Malone University
Sept. 9 Florida Southern College
Library Field 3:30 p.m.
West Palm Beach, Fla. 7 p.m. (EST)
West Palm Beach, Fla. 2 p.m. (EST)
Library Field 3:30 p.m.
Sept. 11 Rollins College Library Field 1 p.m.
Sept. 16
Sept. 18
*Christian Brothers University
*Union University
Library Field 1 p.m.
Library Field 1 p.m.
Sept. 23 *at University of West Georgia Carrollton, Ga. 6:30 p.m. (EST)
Sept. 25 *Valdosta State University
Sept. 28 *University of North Alabama
Oct. 7 *at Lee University
Library Field 1 p.m.
Library Field 3:30 p.m.
Cleveland, Tenn. 7 p.m. (EST)
Oct. 9 *at Shorter University Rome, Ga. 1 p.m. (EST)
Oct. 12 at Auburn University at Montgomery Montgomery, Ala. 4:30 p.m.
Oct. 16 *at University of West Florida Pensacola, Fla. 12:30 p.m.
Oct. 21 *University of West Alabama Library Field 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 23 *University of Alabama in Huntsville Library Field 1 p.m.
Oct. 27 *at Delta State University Cleveland, Miss. 3 p.m.
Oct. 29 *at Mississippi College Clinton, Miss. 1 p.m.
Nov. 6 Auburn University at Montgomery Library Field 1 p.m.
*GSC matches
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