It seems the only reason Shippensburg women's soccer coach Rob Fulton did not win the PSAC Coach of the Year award was because of the insanely successful campaign put forth by West Chester's Gerry Lucey, whose Golden Rams completed an unblemished regular season and advanced all the way to the NCAA semifinals.

It was certainly an impressive feat, but Lucey has come and gone after one year, and some portion of his success had everything to do with inheriting a veteran-laced team that was primed for a breakout year.

Meanwhile, Fulton entered 2006 with a Lady Raider roster that had lost nine veterans to graduation and returned only three regular starters. Possessing what amounted to half of a roster before recruiting began, it seemed the odds were certainly not in the favor of Shippensburg having a successful campaign.

Despite losing a goalkeeper that had played every minute of every game of her career and held school records in career shutouts and saves, Fulton‚s defense was just as staunch, allowing the same number of goals as it did the regular season before (just 30 in 19 games).

Despite losing Nikki Kegerreis and virtually all the forwards from 2005, Fulton brought in a wealth of talent and improved the offense by 10 goals, scoring 31 times in 19 games. With what seemed like little to work with, Fulton put the ingredients in place that produced an outstanding effort in 2006 and this season, has assembled an organization that will be strong for years to come.

Fulton has not only preserved Ship; he plans on sailing the team farther into the playoffs with each successive season. He returns to the sidelines for his second season with a motivated and athletic group of Lady Raiders that he has handpicked over the last two recruiting classes.

Shippensburg scored 31 goals in 2006, and allowed the same amount. Likewise, the team's season record was nine wins, nine losses and two ties.

As a result, Shippensburg will need to continue making strides offensively. The Lady Raiders did increase their goal production by 10 last year, but must throw more shots toward the net. The Lady Raiders attempted just 81 shots on goal as opposed to 118 for its opponents.

"We need to have the confidence to pull the trigger," said Fulton of his shooters. "If we can get some confidence with the outside shot, and make sure we do our best with every good opportunity, then I think we'll be okay."

While Beth Long gobbled up a majority of those shots against between the pipes, her burden can be lessened with the offense gaining this confidence.

With such an influx and depth to bodies, there will be widespread competition all across the board for playing time. A standard has been set for success, and it will be up to the hungriest of the Lady Raiders to maintain the very successful revitalization.

The 2007 Lady Raiders are undeniably young with 24 of the 32 players on the preseason roster being either freshman or sophomores. However, there seems to be the perfect blend in place of veteran strength and youthful vigor.

Some of the necessary leadership will likely come from veteran defenders Sarah Tagye and Mallory Skipp, backfield phenoms that have hardly left the playing field over the last several seasons and who have contributed to the successful 1.52 team goals against average.

No one unit is stronger than the other for Shippensburg.

Team unity is a vital strength to the Lady Raiders. With every game and every practice, the group becomes further and further in sync with one another.

The "inexperienced" motley crew that had been picked fifth in the PSAC Eastern Division, advanced to the PSAC Women's Soccer Championship.

After a year of playing together and perfecting team chemistry, the Lady Raiders all return in what figures to be a dynamite campaign.

In 2006, Fulton reeled in a recruiting class of 15 freshmen in a move that was both essential and extremely valuable to the team. This year, there are no less than 11 recruits vying for spots.

While there may be even more new faces in 2007, you can also expect more of the same success from the Lady Raiders and back-to-back appearances in the PSAC tournament for the first time in franchise history is almost a certainty.

Forward

There is little doubt the offense is set into motion by Gayle Kuntzmann, the PSAC Rookie of the Year and member of the NSCAA All-Northeast Region Second Team. She posted 12 goals in her freshman season and was a major surprise to the rest of the conference.

Kuntzmann may be considered the crown jewel of the 2006 recruiting class, but she has an army of fellow sophomores and other teammates ready to join her and wreak havoc on opposing defenders. The extreme depth in the forward ranks will likely be the factor that will catch many off guard in 2007.

Rachel Jeffrey, another sophomore forward who quietly scored four goals and recorded three assists during her freshman season, will return to help flank Kuntzmann up front. She started in 17 games in her inaugural campaign and made appearances in every game.

The competition among the forward ranks will go down to the wire. Among those competing for spots will be Lauren Beaner, who has rapidly evolved into a potential offensive weapon after appearing in 14 games during her sophomore campaign. She will be a player to watch in ‚07.

Providing depth entering camp will be fellow forward Paola San Martin.

Several freshmen will be vying for starting positions, and they are loaded with talent. Amanda Greenawalt recorded 19 goals and 10 assists for the Black Knights of Hempfield High School. Allie Eiseman delivered totaled 14 goals and 10 assists as a midfielder at Sherwood High School in Maryland. And Lisa Findley was a three-time letterwinner for the Eagles of Cumberland Valley High School.

Competition will be fierce through the end of the preseason, with only three spots to be divided among nine athletes.

Midfield

The Lady Raiders have been graced with experience at each key position to ease the burden upon the bevy of recruits that have made their way to Shippensburg over the last two seasons. Two key cogs that will help settle the midfield in 2007 figure to be junior Kellye Von Stetten and senior Jamie Goetze.

Von Stetten was one of seven Lady Raiders to appear in all 20 games last season, and totaled two goals and an assist while finishing fourth on the team in shots. Meanwhile, Goetze enters her senior season after an ‚06 campaign in which she started in 19 of the team‚s 20 games and scored two goals.
Goetze has started in 35 games over the last two seasons and brings an invaluable amount of talent to the midfield ranks for the Lady Raiders.

Sophomore Katelyn O'Brien made some waves in 2006 by appearing in 11 games as a reserve, including appearances in three of the last four games of the season. She will look to expand her role in 2007 while competing for a starting spot.

Fellow sophomore Lauren Estrain appeared in four games off the bench in her debut season and will vie for a spot along with six freshmen that are also competing for playing time in the midfield and who will be afforded every opportunity to crack the starting lineup. Freshman Lauren Delvecchio will also vie for playing time.

Several other freshmen will be looking to earn playing time in the midfield. Hannah Sanders totaled 23 goals and 27 assists in her high school career while Alison Dowdrick is a veteran of the Lancaster-Lebanon League while playing for Cedar Crest High School. Megan Knoster is coming off a successful campaign in the Susquehanna Valley League while at Lewisburg Area High School.

Defense

The most experienced group among all the Lady Raiders is its defenders. Shippensburg will return four extremely talented defenders and will assist this group with several freshmen competing for playing time.

Seniors Sarah Tagye and Mallory Skipp combined to start 38 games for the Lady Raiders last season and each will be looked upon to duplicate their skillful play from previous seasons. Skipp has made a seamless conversion from forward to defender over the course of her Shippensburg career and will team with Tagye to help command the backfield.

A second dynamic duo emerged in 2006 in the form of two freshmen that wasted no time solidifying a defensive unit that was trying stay on par with the 1.58 goals per game average set in 2005.

Sophomore Brittany Oncay emerged as a stalwart defensive presence, and impressively earned an All-PSAC second team selection as a freshman. She was the only Lady Raider to start in all 20 games, and her presence was a key contributor to the 1.52 goals per game average posted by Shippensburg in 2006.

Joining Oncay was Sarah Youse, who started in 19 games as a freshman defender and registered three assists over the course of back-to-back games. A sophomore in her own right, Youse joins Oncay and proves that Shippensburg's defense won‚t be dropping into a lull anytime soon.

Senior Kristen Mack will also be back to chip in as a veteran defender and sophomore Emily Burger will continue to build upon the experience she gained from appearing in nine contests a season ago.

Mack and Burger will be joined by a group of freshmen that hope to be as immediately successful as Oncay and Youse. Rachael Karpinski returns as a red-shirt after rehabbing an injury in 2006 while Erin Boyle will be looking to make seamless transition from all-conference high school honors to everyday contributors in the Lady Raider lineup.

Goalkeeper

In her first full season as goalkeeper, junior Beth Long performed beyond admirably and helped Shippensburg to overcome what seemed like it would be a difficult transition between the pipes after the graduation of standout Meredith Yakscoe-Markle.

Long held a 1.36 goals-against average, good enough for sixth in the PSAC, and also led the conference with 132 saves last season. She finished second in saves per game, racking up 7.33 for each contest. Perhaps the most impressive statistic of all was the six shutouts she recorded over the course of the season.

Long will return for her senior season while competition arrives in the form of Megan Delio, a freshman who recently concluded a standout career at Bishop Shanahan High School.

Sophomore Jennifer Bledsoe will also return as a reserve and will be ready when the need arises.

Schedule

After a home contest to kick off the season, the Lady Raiders will have to prove their mettle early on by enduring five road contests over the course of its first eight games. The first meeting against defending conference champion West Chester will take place at David See Field on September 6.

Shippensburg will have a stretch of five home games out of six total contests from September 20 to October 6 that can hopefully solidify the Lady Raiders for a stretch run that begins with the road contest against the Golden Rams on October 10.

Only two of the 20 games are against non-PSAC opponents, so the Lady Raiders know what they are up against. They showed they can run with the best of them in 2006, and Shippensburg will look to hurdle over several PSAC competitors this upcoming season.