Bears Poised for First Winning Season

In just two varsity seasons, Shawnee State soccer coach, Bryan Smith, has the Bears poised for their first winning campaign.  In addition to a seventeen-match schedule which features just seven conference dates, Shawnee State has nine players returning from the 2001 squad, which finished 7-12 (4-12 AMC).  Four of those nine earned All-AMC honors last season. 

Sophomore Laura Schulz (Amelia, OH) and junior Marseille Markham (Athens, OH) will once again be looked upon to shoulder the Bears’ offense.  Schulz led the team in scoring with 28 points (10 goals, 8 assists) while Markham was second on the squad with eight goals and six assists.  Junior Jessica Burkhart (Batavia, OH) and sophomore Jessica Votaw (Salem, OH) will anchor the defense.  Burkhart earned All-Conference honors as freshman.  She scored two goals and tallied one assist from her stopper position.  Votaw recorded four shutouts and posted a 2.43 goals against average on the season. 

Also returning for the 2002 season are seniors Sarah Bryant (Ironton, OH) and Brandy Dewar (Cincinnati, OH), and sophomores Lisa Jacquemin (Hamilton, OH), April Holbrook (Ashland, KY), and Anne Fontaine (Oxford, OH). 

The Bears newcomers include freshmen Kim Smith (Cincinnati, OH), Ashley Brown (Circleville, OH), Courtney Logan (Portsmouth, OH), Holly Losekamp (Cincinnati, OH), Dawn McCarthy (Norwood, OH), Matina Stanko (Raceland, KY), and Courtney Beaty (Overpeck, OH).  Joining the freshmen is junior Lucinda McCann (Versailles, KY).

“I feel with talent and skill that we have in our incoming freshman we will be able to control games a lot more this year,” said Coach Bryan Smith.   “We should definitely be strong in the midfield this year. I look for Jessica Votaw to have another outstanding campaign for us this year. We return our top two point leaders from last season, which is a big plus for us. I feel that this is definitely going to be our break out year. Our non-conference schedule was filled with a lot of good NCAA Div III schools from Ohio. This will be our strongest schedule by far that we've played. I know I have a dedicated group of young women, and they are as excited as I am to get the season underway.”

Shawnee State opens the season against Kentucky Christian College on September 18.  Game time is 4:00 p.m. at the Shawnee State University Soccer Field.