Monmouth Women's Soccer Touts High Octane Offense

by Dan Nolan

Monmouth, IL (08/27/2019) — Pardon Monmouth College women's soccer coach Nick Rizzo if he sounds a bit giddy when discussing the prospects of goal scoring this season, but his Fighting Scots return over 90 percent of their goals from a year ago, including a pair of All-Midwest Conference honorees.

"It's very unusual to return that much offense," admitted Rizzo as he enters his fourth season at Monmouth. "We're excited about it, but realize it's a double-edged sword. Every team we play will have that on their scouting report. I expect teams will play us differently than they have in the past. We've got a team with a lot of veterans which puts us in a good spot after we got to the conference finals in 2017 when this year's seniors were sophomores."

Rizzo expects to shuffle parts of the lineup that returns senior all-conference forwards Jacie Reis (La Porte, Texas/La Porte) and Kara-Jade Gordon (Nashville, Tenn./University School of Nashville) - a three-time All-Midwest Conference honoree. The tandem combined to net 31 of the Scots' 56 goals a year ago and will be joined up front by junior Devin Cross (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland) - an all-conference midfielder in 2017 who missed the last half of last season due to an injury.

"We're moving some people around and getting a good mix on all parts of the field," said Rizzo. "Instead of a two-prong attack, we're looking at a three-prong attack. We have enough depth across the board to put completely new lines in with fresh legs and not miss a beat."

Also in the mix up top are senior Makayla Shaw (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg), junior Danielle Ito-LaBelle (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben), sophomore Jordyn Gosell (Antioch, Ill./Grayslake Central) and freshmen Sam Koppers (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew), Yari Aguado (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) and Nina Guitron (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield Central).

"We're trying to figure out the best combination," explained Rizzo. "It's a case of having two full offensive lines that can keep us fresh and score some goals. Fatigue shouldn't be a problem. We were in a similar spot with depth last year before injuries took their toll. If we can stay healthy, we should have plenty of goal-scoring ability."

Athletic junior Aspen Chadderdon (Marshalltown, Iowa/Marshalltown) is expected to move from a defender to the midfield this season along with sophomore Shelby Sims (Peoria, Ill./Limestone). Another sophomore, Erica Bossard (Pella, Iowa/Pella Community), started at outside back a year ago and will move upfield for 2019. Junior Taylor Coffman (Carpentersville, Ill./Dundee-Crown) and sophomore Ezzie Baltierra-Chavez bring more experience at the position from last season. Freshmen Mikayla McCart (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) and Emma Freyermuth (Muscatine, Iowa/Louisa-Muscatine) are also vying for a starting role at midfield.

"We're getting more experience at the midfield position," claimed Rizzo. "Shelby is a returning starter at that spot and Aspen is just a great athlete. Ezzie also runs cross country and is extremely fit. I feel bad for some of the freshmen. Had they been here two or three years ago, they probably would have started, but we've got so much depth ahead of them now, they'll have to work extremely hard and wait their turn."

It's the same on defense where the Scots have plenty of options with experienced veterans and talented newcomers. Sophomore Katlyn Selvig (Oswego, Ill./East) is a holdover from last year's defensive third. She'll be joined by sophomore Payton Gosell (Antioch, Ill./Grayslake Central) and junior Hadyn DeLeeuw (Kirksville, Mo./Kirksville). The trio are getting a challenge from freshmen Madison Meldrum (Colona, Ill./United Township) and Kaylee Doebert (Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb), sophomores Sarah Poirier (Kenosha, Wis./Kenosha) and Ashlyn Welch (Grain Valley, Mo./Grain Valley) and senior captain Lily Lindner (Morton, Ill./Morton).

"We've moved three of our backline defenders upfield," reported Rizzo of Cross, Chadderdon and Ito-LaBelle, who were on defense during the Scots' 2017 league runner-up finish. "That's a testament to their offensive ability and the ability of the people we've been able to put back there. Payton has done a really good job and Katlyn is a jack-of-all-trades. You just can't put her in the wrong spot."

Rizzo's large squad is also seeing a battle in goal where junior goalkeeper Kensey Arlt (Wichita, Kan./Eisenhower) and sophomore Quinn Cutler (Breese, Ill./Mater Dei) are neck-and-neck. Arlt got the majority of the minutes a season ago and was in goal during the Scots' storied 2017 season.

"They're both playing incredibly well," reported Rizzo. "We're very comfortable with our options in goal. Every day I go home and project an entirely different lineup at every position. It's a challenge, but a good problem to have."

Opposing teams may have a problem keeping the Scots from scoring. All but five of the team's 56 goals return from a season ago. Add in 13 juniors and seniors with postseason experience and the Scots bring a special focus in seeking their first Midwest Conference title.

"Our offensive is our strength," said Rizzo. "There won't be many - if any - games where we get shut out. If we can sort out the defense, we should win a good amount of games. Of course, Knox is the defending champions and the team to beat. The key for us to get to the conference tournament is to beat the teams in the middle echelon. Last year we had a better record against the top four teams than we had against the middle three and that kept us out of the conference tournament. We can't overlook anyone. We need to get that swagger back we had in 2017 and send our seniors out on the right note. They've done so much for the program to get us to this level, we owe it to them."