 "Photo: File Art | The News Record")
“This year was a developmental year, we started a really young group that didn’t have a whole lot of experience,” said UC head coach Michelle Salmon. “Our starting lineup was the youngest in the league.”
The Bearcats (8-10-1, 3-7-1 Big East) finished the season sixth in the league, one spot short of the conference tournament. UC finished 1-6 in conference games, decided by one goal.
“The measure of this season comes down to winning those one-goal games in the Big East,” Salmon said. “We get in big moments, but now we need to finish those big moments.”
UC was predicted to finish sixth in the preseason league poll. The highlight of the season was a 1-0 win against St. John’s (then 12th-ranked), who finished second in the league.
The Bearcats started the season strong with a 6-3 record against mostly non-conference teams, but only managed to win one out of their following nine games in the Big East.
The last game of the season was a 4-0 win that ended the Bearcats losing streak and sent the seniors off with a win on Senior Day.
Senior keeper Andrea Kaminski played well in her final season and finished her career with a school record 16 shutouts, 401 saves and five Big East Goalkeeper of the Week awards, two this season.
The Bearcats had to deal with many injuries throughout the season.
“Through the course of the season we continued to get better. I felt like we faced a lot of adversity and we showed character with losing four players to season ending injuries,” Salmon said. “At one point in the season only 12 of our 22 players were practicing.”
Sophomore forward Julie Morrissey led the team in scoring last year, but only finished with four goals this season due to medical issues. Sophomore forward Emily Hebbeler and junior forward Kendall Loggins both led the team in scoring, each with six goals.
Going into their next season, the Bearcats will have eight returning starters from this
year’s squad.
“We have a good core of players and leaders coming back next year,” Salmon said. “Junior midfielder Sydney Barker will take more of a leadership role on our team, Kelli Pawelko and Kay Young will be big time players in the back and Rachel Barnette will be a dominant goalkeeper in the Big East.”
Many underclassmen saw significant playing time and when next season kicks off, the Bearcats will be able to match the experience of other teams in the league.
“Even though our record may not indicate it, we did take a lot of good steps forward this season,” Salmon said.
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