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Optimistic Outlook for North Park Women Soccer Team
CHICAGO, IL (August 29, 2002) - The North Park University (NPU) women's soccer
team returns 12 players, including junior All-Conference defender Marit
Johnson, from last year's roster, giving second-year coach Erin Leinweber
cause for optimism this fall.
Last year, the team finished 5-11-1, 1-6 in the College Conference of
Illinois and Wisconsin, but the Vikings lost six times by one goal, three
in conference action. The team finished strongly, going 3-1-1 in its final
five contests.
Early on, Leinweber will count on Johnson, senior Randi Novak, a three-year
starter in goal, and midfielders Linnea Johnson, Rachel Jendras, Heidi
Hjelm and Ashley Balsam. The Johnson's combined for eight goals last fall,
along with 23 points. Hjelm, a senior, is from Anchorage, Alaska. Balsam, a
fifth-year senior from Evanston, suffered an ankle injury and sat out most
of last year.
Other returning players include forwards Angela Zirk of Kasson, Minnesota,
and Tamaira Fraley of Mount Sterling, Kentucky, midfielders Angie Alvarado
of Dearborn, Michigan, and Sarah Burnett of Waxhaw, North Carolina, and
midfield/forward Beth Johnson of Chaska, Minnesota. Midfielder/forward
Katie Rose of Wasilla, Alaska, played as a freshman but was studying in
Sweden last fall.
Two first-year players on the roster who have been students at NPU include
Jenny Delcamp of Troy, Ohio, and Anja Peterson of Wilmette. A third
newcomer is Josefin Skogeton, an exchange student who played club soccer
while a student in Sweden.
If the team's veterans falter, look for Leinweber to give nine incoming
freshmen an opportunity to shine. The young athletes bolster a roster of 24
players that make NPU arguably its deepest squad ever. Minnehaha Academy
students Krista Livingston and Lindsay Lundgren are among those players,
having come from one of the most renowned prep soccer programs in
Minnesota. Livingston was an honorable mention All-State defender for
Minnehaha, which is sponsored by the Northwest Conference of the
Evangelical Covenant Church. Lundgren is a midfielder.
Goalie Erin Neises of Junction City, Wisconsin, was an All-Conference
goalie and will vie for playing time with Novak. Other freshmen competing
for playing time include midfielders Carli Thomforde of Apple Valley,
Minnesota, and Erin Robertson of Seattle; forwards Abbie Frank of
Shoreview, Minnesota, and Erika Bennett of McHenry; and defender Mallory
Nelson of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Melanie Morgan of Bourbannais.
NPU opens at Milwaukee School of Engineering at noon Saturday and plays a 1
p.m. contest Sunday at Alverno, also in Milwaukee. The Vikings open
conference play with a 12:30 p.m. match at Millikin University on September
21.
For more about NPU women's soccer, call Leinweber at 773-244-6251 or email
her at eleinweber@northpark.edu.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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