2003 Spider Outlook. Senior Megan Cox

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2 2003 Spider Outlook After last season s Atlantic 10 title and Women s College Cup Sweet Sixteen Appearance, the 2003 University of Richmond women s soccer team is eager to continue adding to the Spiders growing list of achievements. We accomplished a lot of great things last season, but there is still room for improvement in terms of the way that we play the game. I am looking forward to coaching our returning players for another year head coach Peter Albright remarked. Richmond finished the 2002 regular season ranked third in the conference before capturing the Atlantic 10 Championship and advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Returning ten starters from the squad, the Spiders are ready to defend their title and again advance in post-season play. Richmond s schedule is demanding as the Spiders face eight teams that participated in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, including two Elite Eight squads in North Carolina and Virginia. Our schedule is extremely challenging but we are hoping to measure ourselves against some of the strongest teams in the region, Albright said. This slate will allow us to continue developing our playing style while building a national reputation. With a core of returning players and an impressive group of newcomers, Richmond s goal is the same, win the Atlantic 10 Championship and make an impact in the NCAA Tournament. FORWARDS Richmond s front line is experienced with the Spiders returning their three leading scorers from last season. The balanced attack will be led by junior Whitney Sikes and sophomore Annette Isham. Sikes scored a team-high nine goals last season, which tied for seventh in the conference, and also led the squad in gamewinning goals with four. Leading the team in goals as a sophomore is a great accomplishment, Albright said. Whitney is continuing to get stronger and we are expecting more from her this season. Sophomore Annette Isham earned a starting role halfway through her freshman campaign and will return to it in the fall. Isham, the team s most dynamic player according to OUTLOOK Senior Megan Cox Albright, led the team in points (33) off eight goals and a team-best seven assists. Annette is an outstanding oneon-one player and can open up a game with her speed. She is strong in the open field and isn t afraid to take chances, Albright commented. Senior Jessica Marino is also expected to claim a starting position on the Spiders front line. Marino appeared in 22 games last season and finished third on the team in goals (six) before undergoing reconstructive knee surgery in late winter. Jessica is a great leader and a tremendous competitor, Albright said. She is one of our quickest players and I am hopeful she will be ready to go in the fall. Sophomore Liana Wooten, the 2002 Virginia High School AAA Player of the Year, will see action this season after redshirting her freshman year due to injury. Senior Anne Reiser Liana was one of the top attacking players in her class, Albright explained. I have high hopes for her and am excited about seeing her on the field in a Richmond uniform. In addition to Wooten s scoring threat, freshmen Brooke Binswanger and Alex Twellman both bring a scoring ability to the team. Sophomore Susan Darrah will provide quality minutes in the Spiders front line. CENTER MIDFIELD Senior Edda Gardarsdottir and junior Meghan Ogilvie join to create a strong center midfield as the duo is expected to be a dangerous combination after teaming together for the spring season. Gardarsdottir, a third team All-American selection, started 21 games last season and contributed three goals and five assists. A mentally tough player, she sets the tempo for Richmond s physical style of play. Edda is one of the most talented players that I have ever coached, Albright remarked of the Iceland national player. She is an outstanding long-range passer and wins balls for us. Edda is one of this team s true leaders and a great example of the competitive fire that our entire team possesses. The 2003 Atlantic 10 Tournament MOP, Ogilive stepped into a starting role after missing most of her freshman season due to injury and totaled four goals, including two in the conference championship game, and three assists. Meghan improved tremendously throughout last season and her improvements were shown by her contributions during our post-season run, Albright said. She and Edda will provide us with a powerful midfield. Sophomore Lindsay Reid and Kaile Partridge, who both saw game action in 2002, will compete for playing time in the center midfield along with newcomer Kelsey Blank. OUTSIDE MIDFIELD One of the keys to the Spiders system of play is the performance of its outside midfielders.

3 We ask a lot of the players in this position, Albright stated. These are some of our most athletic and hardest-working players. After starting 19 contests last year, senior Bethany Shewmaker returns to the outside for the Spiders. A fixture in the middle, Shewmaker added one goal and two assists as she played a high number of minutes last season. Bethany is one of the toughest and most competitive players that I have ever coached, Albright commented. On the other side of the field, Albright will look to senior Molly Rettig to take a starting role after scoring four goals and adding four assists last season. Molly is an outstanding overall athlete and one of our most creative players, Albright stated. Challenging the two seniors for playing time will be Olina Vidarsdottir, a junior transfer from Central Michigan University. Described as exciting to watch, Vidarsdottir is a physically competitive player and will add strength to the midfield. In addition, transfer Brooke Tannery, sophomore Carly Gettler and freshman Mairead Gordon will all play key reserve roles. BACKS One of Richmond s strengths will be a defense that returns its entire back line after posting ten shutouts last year. Richmond s only player to start all 23 games last season, fifthyear senior Anne Reiser returns to anchor the Spiders defense. A member of the Mid-Atlantic Region second team, Reiser was responsible for defending each opponent s top player last season. In Richmond s 1-0 win over Clemson in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, she held the ACC Player of the Year, Dee Arrington, scoreless. Anne is one of the top defenders in the Atlantic 10, Albright stated. In addition to her outstanding leadership skills, she is a tremendous athlete and competitor. Junior Whitney Sikes Junior Lyndal Hegamyer and sophomore Hilary Prince both return from their starting roles in Richmond s defense. A steady player, Hegamyer competed in all 23 contests last year and added one goal for Richmond. Prince earned her way into the starting line-up mid-way through her freshman campaign as she developed as a college athlete. Lyndal is what I call a glue-player because of her ability to hold things together on the field, Albright explained. If we gave an Unsung Hero award, she would earn it because of her willingness to take care of the little things that go unnoticed. Hilary adds physical strength to our back line and has a strong positional sense. Incoming freshman Dani Amarant and Margaux Lochmiller will both compete for quality minutes. Amarant joins the Spiders after playing sweeper for the U17 Girls National Championship squad, Pleasanton Rage (Calif.). Hailing from Colorado, Lochmiller reunites with Colorado Storm club teammate Annette Isham. GOALKEEPING The Spiders return one of the Atlantic 10 s top keepers in senior Megan Cox. After playing limited minutes in her first season at Richmond and redshirting her second, Cox started 21 of 23 contests last year and her eight shutouts ranked second in the league. In her first year as a starter, Megan exceeded my expectations, Albright commented. Entering into last season, we knew that she would bring consistency to the goal but throughout the season, she also established the ability to make the big saves. Megan was a big part of our championship run. In addition, senior Sam Honig and sophomore Kelly Kolker will compete for playing time in the net. Although both lack extensive game experience, Albright believes that the two are ready to compete and will see quality on-field minutes. Sam and Kelly are both solid goalkeepers and we ll use their different strengths to our advantage, Albright said. Sam is very strong in defending the upper part of the goal and making acrobatic saves while Kelly is very courageous against one-on-one breakaways and close shots. Junior Meghan Ogilvie 2003 OUTLOOK 9

4 Head Coach Peter Albright Peter Albright looks to continue the Spiders success as he begins his eighth year at the helm of the University of Richmond women s soccer program. In just seven short years, Albright and his staff have constructed and directed a program that has compiled six straight winning seasons and recorded 84 victories. This past fall, Albright led the squad to its best season ever with 15 victories and an Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship. The Spiders advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and ended the season with a #16 ranking in the final NSCAA/adidas National Poll. The Spiders posted a record in 2002, surpassing the previous program record of 13 wins in a year. The Spiders season was one full of triumphs, as Richmond played two nationally-ranked opponents (Dartmouth and Virginia) to double overtime ties and finished Atlantic 10 play with an 8-3 mark. In the conference tournament, the third-seeded Spiders dispensed of Dayton, the defending champion, and top-seeded Rhode Island to earn the league s automatic bid to the Women s College Cup. Albright s group was not just happy to be there, as the Spiders defeated Clemson, 1-0, in Charlotte, N.C. and advanced to the coveted Sweet Sixteen with a 1-0 win over intrastate rival James Madison. Richmond s season ended with a 4-0 loss to the eventual National Champion, Portland but the Spiders efforts were recognized as the squad finished among the Top-20 in two national polls. Albright surpassed the 200-career victory plateau during the 2000 season and has compiled a career record of , a winning percentage of.597. His 245 victories rank him sixth among all active NCAA Division I coaches. Since arriving at Richmond, he has coached 23 All-Conference honorees, three All- Americans, three freshmen All-Americans as well as numerous All-State and regional All-American performers. In 2001, the Spiders registered a 9-3 conference mark in their first season in the Atlantic 10 while earning a trip to the tournament championship game. The team s overtime win against George Washington marked the University s first tournament victory as an all-sports member of the conference. Albright guided the squad in 2000 to what was then their best-ever campaign. With a record, the Spiders reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history with an at-large bid and posted a 5-1 opening round victory over West Virginia at the UR Soccer Complex, now First Market Stadium. Albright s peers honored him in 2000 with the CAA Coach of the Year award and he was also selected Virginia State Coach of the Year. In addition to their victory run on the field, the Spiders women s soccer team has garnered the National Soccer Coaches Association of America College Team Academic Achievement Award for six straight years. Albright s on-field coaching mastery and recruiting efforts have been instrumental in the program s growth. He helped to guide defender Jaclyn Raveia to numerous honors and place her among the nation s best as she was honored with the 2000 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Scholar Athlete of the Year award. Raveia now stars with the WUSA s New York Power. Albright began his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, Johnson State (Vt.), where he guided the Badgers for 15 years, amassing an overall record of (.654). Albright holds a NSCAA Advanced National Dioploma and a USFF A Licence. He is a member of the United States Soccer Federation. Albright and his wife, Karen, reside in Richmond. The couple has two children: a daughter, Allie (13), and a son, Tim (10). 10 HEAD COACH

5 Brooke Sands ASSISTANT COACH Former Spider stand-out Brooke Sands enters her first season as an assistant coach with the University of Richmond women s soccer team Sands, who received her MEd in Sport and Exercise Psychology from University of Virginia in August, served as a volunteer assistant with the Cavaliers last season. Her duties included video editing, individual player profiling, compiling statistics and assisting with soccer clinics. Sands also served as head coach for the S.O.C.A. (Soccer Organization of Charlottesville-Albemarle) U13 Girls squad for the past two years. In addition to her experience with the University of Richmond Women s Soccer Camps, Sands has worked with the S.O.C.A. Advanced Technical Development Program, the University of Virginia Advanced and Youth Camps and the S.O.C.A. Striker-Keeper Camp. A 2001 graduate of the University of Richmond, Sands was a four-year letterwinner for the Spiders. The third team All-American honoree is the program s all-time leader in goals (51), points (124), game-winning goals (14) and shots (343) and ranks second in assists (22). While at Richmond, Sands was a member of the Athletic Council and was one of two student-athletes appointed to the Athletic Director Search Committee. Missy Wycinsky ASSISTANT COACH Missy Wycinsky begins her second year as an assistant with the University of Richmond women s soccer team. Currently pursuing a law degree at the University of Richmond, Wycinsky played for the WUSA s San Diego Spirit for a year following a highly acclaimed college playing career at William & Mary. Wycinsky, a 2000 William & Mary graduate, was a three-time All-American with the Tribe and the two-time CAA Player of the Year. The William and Mary record holder for both points (202) and assists (52) was a Honda Award finalist, an annual honor given to the top collegiate player, and a two-time Hermann Trophy finalist. In addition, Wycinsky was a four-time All Mid-Atlantic and All-CAA selection. A native of Woodbridge, Virginia, Wycinsky earned All-State honors in soccer, basketball and tennis at Gar-field High School. University of Richmond Athletics is proud to partner with Marriott Hotels. Enjoy one of the many in the Richmond area. Courtyard West Courtyard Northwest Courtyard Richmond-Airport Marriott West Spring Hill Suites Chris Mahan Athletic Trainer Angela Bertholdt Strength and Conditioning Coach ASSISTANT COACHES/SUPPORT STAFF 11