WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Whitman College graduation ceremonies have drained a whopping 16 players from the roster of its women’s soccer roster over the past two seasons. Thank goodness the pipeline runs both ways.
"We’ve lost a great deal of talent and depth, and this year’s senior class is only two deep," Scott Shields acknowledges as he eyes his 14th season as the Missionary head coach. "But we have good talent and depth in our first three classes, and I think we can be just as good as we’ve been the past few years. Maybe better."
The Missionaries placed fourth in a nine-team conference in each of the past two seasons, posting a combined win-loss-tie record of 16-9-7. Two years ago, Whitman finished just a single game out of second place in the tightly bunched final standings.
"Because of this year’s small senior class, our roster is smaller than normal with just 19 players," Shields says. "That means we really need to focus on keeping everyone healthy. If we have more than a few injuries, we could run into trouble. If we stay healthy, we’re going to have a very good team."
All things considered, Shields says, "I’m very excited about this season. We have a fantastic group of players coming back and a solid group of first-year athletes. Things look good in terms of maintaining our winning ways."
Kristen Berndt, one of the most prolific scorers in the history of Whitman’s program, is back for her senior season at one of the forward spots. In three seasons, Berndt has collected 31 goals and 12 assists, leading the Missionaries in scoring each year.
Berndt earned All-Northwest Conference First-Team honors last fall, when she was also named to the D3Kicks.com website’s All-American Team. And the National Soccer Coaches Association of America tabbed the hard-charging forward for its All-West Region First Team.
"Kristen is recognized as one of the best players in the conference, and she’s one of the best forwards we’ve ever had at Whitman," Shields says. She’s coming off a few injuries, and she was in Africa all of last spring on a foreign study program. So, she’s easing back into her game, and her playing time will increase as the season gets going."
Whitman’s only other senior is one of her running mates at forward, Alysse Ginkel, who transferred to Whitman last fall after playing two seasons at Walla Walla Community College. Ginkle played in all 17 games last season, contributing one goal and one assist in relatively limited time on the field.
"Alysse didn’t get as much playing time as she would have liked because we were so heavy with seniors," Shields says. "She looked great in training last spring, and this fall she’s been doing a great job in our first few weeks of training, and she had a great spring. We’re expecting great things from her this season."
Sophomore Corina Gabbert figures to provide more scoring punch from one of the midfield spots. Gabbert accounted for four goals and three assists last fall while landing on a spot on the All-NWC Second Team.
"We’re excited to have Corina back, but she’s coming off an injury last spring," Shields says. "Her playing time will pick up as we get through the early games and head into the conference schedule."
Shields has yet to decide if junior midfielders Kristen Mittelsteadt and Alisa Larson-Xu will retain those roles or drop back to fill holes in the defense. "If we want to make those changes, we can have a very veteran defensive unit," he says. "For the type of game she likes to play, Kristen could make an easy transition to outside defender, and Alisa could easily step back into the central defender’s position and not miss a beat."
Whatever Shields decides to do, sophomore Elle Burstein and junior Sarah Nostdal are likely to form Whitman’s defensive core. Burstein was impressive last fall as a defensive starter and Nostdal was a regular off the bench. "Both Elle and Sarah have been playing well in our early practices," Shields says. "The other two or three spots in the back are up for grabs, but we have very solid players in the mix."
Other experienced options on the defensive side are first-year sophomore DeeDee McCormick and returning sophomores Liz Forbes and Kelsi Evans.
"DeeDee worked with us last spring, and she continues to improve and show a lot of promise," Shields says. "She’s a very hard worker and strong tackler. She also can get forward and do some nice things on the attack.
"Liz is athletic and can play pretty much anywhere on the field," he adds. Kelsi is strong and can hit the ball hard, and we’re really hoping to see a lot of growth from Kelsi this season."
Jennifer Doane, a speedy junior, returns as a starter at one of the outside midfielder positions. "Jennifer did a good job for us last fall, and she probably had the best spring of any of the returning players. She’s getting more aggressive with the ball, which is nice to see. She’s becoming more of a leader on the field."
Junior Molly Gordon and sophomore Kendall Shibuya also return to the midfield and will battle for playing time.
"Molly will get more minutes this season, and we’re hoping she can get forward and get a few more goals," Shields says. "Kendall has a fantastic touch with the ball, and we’re looking for her to have a good sophomore season."
Courtney Porter, a 6-foot sophomore, inherits the starting goalkeeper’s position after splitting time with an older player last fall. She got into eight games in 2006, starting four and registering two shutouts. She just missed a third shutout when nationally-ranked Willamette scored late in regulation of a game that ended in a 1-1 tie.
"Courtney has the potential to develop into one of the premier keepers in our conference," Shields says. "Her athletic ability and work ethic are excellent. She could very well have a great sophomore season. People are going to start taking notice."
Whitman’s first-year class provides more quality up and down the field.
"One of our strongest first-year players is Clare Robeck," Shields says. "At 5-feet-9, she gives us a big, physical presence in the midfield. She played for the same Oregon club team, FC Portland, as Corina Gabbert, and has a very good soccer background."
Audrey Tehan, who comes to Whitman from Sisters, Ore., is competing for time on defense. "Audrey has some experience with the Olympic development program, so she could make some early contributions for us."
Dori Egan-Wright, a forward from Cheyenne, Wyo., has also shown a lot of potential, Shields says. "It’s early but she seems to have a knack for scoring goals. She’s in the right place at the right time, and does what it takes to get the ball into the back of the net."
Alice MacLean, a goalkeeper from Seattle, and Kate Newman, a defender from nearby Bellevue, round out the first-year group. "Alice is smart and talented and gives us a good backup in goal," Shields says.
"Kate gives us good speed and pace in the back and potentially at one of the outside midfielder positions."
Whitman sets its season in motion this weekend with a pair of games in California. The Missionaries play at Chapman University on Saturday and at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Sunday. They play their first home game on Friday, Sept. 7, against Warner Pacific, and then stay at home for the start of NWC play the next weekend.
"We’re picked to place fourth in the preseason poll, but this conference is really up for grabs every year," Shields says. "Every team is a quality opponent. You can’t look past anyone. Fourth is probably a fair assessment for us, but if we stay healthy, we think we can definitely finish higher than that.
"I’m probably more excited about this season than I have been for a few years," Shields adds. "We have a young roster with a lot of players with a very bright future. We’re in a great position to take our program in a whole new direction. It’s a very exciting time, and you can definitely see it and hear it with our players. They are ready to go."
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information,
(509) 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu