The Muskingum University women's soccer team, under the direction of veteran and enthusiastic Head Coach Mary Beth Caudill, will look to contend for a top-tier spot in the Ohio Athletic Conference during the 2016 campaign.
Muskingum returns 16 letterwinners and nine starters from the 2015 squad. Key players to look out for on the field will be senior captain Morgan Price, senior Liz Mitchell, junior Miranda Bishop, and sophomores Rachael Waite and Emily Wiley.
Price, an All-OAC Honorable Mention honoree, led the offensive attack with two goals and two assists. She enters her final campaign ranked eighth all-time in career assists with 10 and sits 10th all-time in career points with 28.
Mitchell played 943:12 minutes in frame and recorded a career-high 99 saves.
Bishop was third on the team for the Muskies with four points (two goals). She played in 18 games with 16 starts.
Waite started and played in 11 games during her rookie debut. She tallied one goal and one assist before suffering a season-ending injury. Wiley saw action in 18 matches with 17 starts. She scored one goal.
Also adding depth to the Muskingum squad will be seniors Sarah Landuyt, Jessica Gutierrez and Kenzie Faust and juniors Lauren McKell, Natalie O'Dell and Stephanie Siwicki.
Landuyt and McKell will look to anchor the backline. Landuyt started all 18 games for the Muskies last season, while McKell made 17 appearances with 14 starts.
Guitterrez and Faust will look to aid the attack this season. Guitterrez saw action in 15 games making three starts, while Faust made seven appearances before suffering an early-season injury.
O'Dell and Siwicki return to add numerous options in the final third as the duo saw action in all 18 games last season. Siwicki recorded one assist, while O'Dell made six starts for Muskingum in 2015.
Coach Caudill will also have the luxury of a blue-chip recruiting class to add depth and talent to the team.
Muskingum will open its season at home on Thursday, September 1 at 7:00 p.m. against Ohio Christian. Muskingum's first road action is scheduled for Sunday, September 4 at 2:00 p.m. at Oberlin. Select home games this year will feature FREE HD video on fightingmuskies.com. Live Stats will be available for all home games on fightingmuskies.com.
