Women’s Soccer 2011 Season Preview
Click here to listen to the entire 2011
season preview podcast with women's soccer head coach Ryan
Middendorf.
MEQUON, Wis. -- A
combination of experience, leadership, and talent has CUW women's
soccer head coach Ryan Middendorf more excited than nervous heading
into the 2011 campaign.
Middendorf, entering his ninth season at the helm,
added a slew of new faces to this year's roster including transfers
Ashley Apazeller (West Bend West) from UW-Milwaukee and Laurin
Herber (Warren, Ind.) from the University of St. Francis (Fort
Wayne, Ind.).
On the offensive side of the ball, CUW shouldn't
skip a beat with the return of the 5-foot-6 junior midfielder
Lauren Straehler (Pewaukee, Wis.). As a sophomore, Straehler led the Falcons in points
(34) and goals (16), which ranked in the top-10 among Northern
Athletics Conference players.
A year ago the Falcons closed the regular
season with four Northern Athletics Conference victories to finish
with 11 wins - their 13th double-digit winning season in program
history and seventh under Middendorf. CUW's 7-4-1 NAC record earned
itself a fifth-seed, which they turned into an opening round 1-0
victory over MSOE. The Falcon season ended after a loss to NCAA
qualifier Aurora University.
With a strong non-conference schedule featuring
defending WIAC Co-Champion UW-Whitewater slated to open the Falcons
season, this year's team is looking for another successful
campaign. A benefit to CUW's conference portion of the schedule is
that the Falcons will have home contests against NAC regular season
and tournament champion Aurora University, while also hosting
Edgewood College and MSOE- teams that finished above the Falcons a
season ago in the standings.
