Preview: Eureka Begins 11th Women's Soccer Season Wednesday

 

EUREKA, Ill. -- The Eureka College women's soccer team will begin its season Wednesday in a 4 p.m. non-conference start against Rockford at Traister Field. The upcoming campaign is Eureka's 11th season of intercollegiate competition at the NCAA Division III level.

 

Following Wednesday's home opener, Eureka will take its first road trip of the season on Friday in a 3 p.m. kickoff against NCCAA Faith Baptist Bible in Ankeny, Iowa.

 

Eureka returns six players that appeared in at least 10 matches last season for fourth-year head coach Dwain Barker, including two of its top three scorers in junior Mecayela Monroe and senior Jamie Hedges. Monroe scored three times in 12 appearances in 2016 and Hedges netted a goal and an assist in 16 matches.

 

The Red Devils will also welcome back juniors Sarah Domkowski and Tatum Dowell, as well as sophomores Sunshine Nowak-Wolff and Tabitha Price.

 

A new goalkeeper will emerge for the Red Devils in 2017. Departed senior Kalionna Mathews played more than 1,110 minutes in net last season and left the program as the all-time leader in total goalkeeper minutes with 4,334.

 

The Red Devils were selected to finish ninth in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2017, according to a preseason poll conducted by league coaches. Five-time defending champion Webster received eight first-place votes and was picked to defend its crown.

 

Webster's 80 points topped the poll. The Gorloks have won or shared five straight regular-season titles and has also claimed four of the last five SLIAC Tournament crowns. Crosstown rival Fontbonne received 73 points and the other two first-place votes to be selected to finish second. Westminster, Spalding and Greenville rounded out the top half of the voting.

 

Principia was voted sixth, followed by Blackburn, MacMurray, Eureka and Iowa Wesleyan.

 

The top four teams in the final SLIAC regular-season standings will qualify for the league's annual postseason tournament. The highest seed hosts each match. The semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 2 and the title match for Saturday, Nov. 4.

 

With the completion of the major renovation to Pete FioRito Stadium at McKinzie Field, Eureka's on-campus football facility since 1930, the EC men's and women's soccer programs will play select home matches under the lights on the new FieldTurf in 2017.

 

The first Eureka women's soccer match scheduled for McKinzie Field is next Thursday, Sept. 14 against Lincoln Christian at 7 p.m. The Red Devils are also tentiavely scheduled to host evening SLIAC matches at McKinzie Field against Principia on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. and Iowa Wesleyan on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.

 

Eureka and Rockford will begin Wednesday's match at 4 p.m. The Regents will bring a 1-2-0 record to Traister Field, dropping decisions to Monmouth (7-0) and Minnesota Morris (9-0), but earning a 7-0 victory over SLIAC member Iowa Wesleyan last Saturday. Last season, Rockford finished the campaign with a 3-14-0 record.

 

Senior midfielder Giovana Ortega leads RU with three goals through the team's first three contests. Junior Lexie Collins has two goals and an assist. The freshman duo of Samantha Bergeron and Drew Garcia have combined for a 5.76 goals-against average in goal.

 

Head coach Kevin Smerko is in his fourth season at Rockford. Smerko, a Rockford native and graduate of Loras, owns previous coaching experience at Loras and Beloit. He owns a 13-39-1 record at RU, including a 3-0-0 mark against the Red Devils.

 

Eureka and Rockford have played in all but one (2009) of the Red Devils' 10 previous seasons of competition. Eureka leads the all-time series with the Regents, 5-4-0, but Rockford has won three consecutive meetings since 2014.

 

Eureka won the first-ever matchup in the rivalry, a 5-4 decision at Traister Field on Sept. 6, 2007. The Red Devils won five of the first six meetings, including a 2-1 overtime triumph in Rockford on Sept. 18, 2013.

 

Wednesday's matchup will be the fifth between the two schools at Traister Field. Eureka and Rockford have split the previous four meetings, including Rockford's 7-2 victory last season on Sept. 26, 2016.

 

The Red Devils will take their first road trip of the season less than 48 hours after the home opener, a 3 p.m. start at NCCAA Faith Baptist Bible in Ankeny, Iowa.

 

The Eagles are 0-1-0 in 2017 after dropping their first match of the season to Maranatha Baptist on Aug. 31, 3-1. FBBC's Lyndi Shepard scored in the 37th minute to force a 1-1 deadlock, but the Sabercats scored twice in the final 11 minutes to earn the victory.

 

The 2017 season is Brandon Fritz's first as women's soccer head coach at FBBC. The Iowa graduate also serves the institution as dean of students, strength and conditioning coordinator and as an adjunct professor

 

Friday's match represents the fourth meeting between Eureka and Faith Baptist Bible. The Red Devils own a perfect 3-0-0 record against the Eagles.

 

EC won the first matchup in Ankeny, 3-2, on Sept. 13, 2014. The previous two meetings have taken place at Traister Field, a 3-1 EC victory on Sept. 11, 2015, and a 2-1 Eureka triumph on Sept. 9, 2016.