The Ottawa Campus

Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Mike McManemin Freshman defender Kourtney Clark and sophomore midfielder Lizzie Wilkens clash with Kansas Wesleyan forward Heather Muilenburg for the ball during Ottawa's 1-0 loss to the Lady Coyotes in the KCAC Championship game.

Media Credit: Jeff Savage

The Ottawa University women's soccer team's season is over after a 1-0 loss in the KCAC conference finals to Kansas Wesleyan University (KWU) on Nov. 15.

"Obviously the girls are disappointed, but they are also very proud of their successful season," Molly Grisham, assistant coach, said.

The Lady Braves finished their season 14-4-1 with a 7-2 conference record, falling only to KWU in both losses.

"We started seven freshman on Saturday against KWU while they started eight seniors," head women's soccer coach Craig Shaw said. "It is an incredible fact that this team came this far while being so young."

Grisham was especially impressed by the team's maturity in the finals.

"Our team is only going to get better with time," Grisham said. "We played 3 different formations throughout the game and were always able to create opportunities to score. That is really impressive."

Shaw also talked about switching formations, noting that the team started off the first half of the game in the same formation it played all season but adjusted to a different formation after halftime. He put an extra forward position into the mix and was impressed by how well the young girls adjusted.

"It was risky, as we opened up a little more in the back, but we created great opportunities upfront," Shaw said.

In retrospect, Shaw didn't think the team competed as physically as he wanted it to, but they still had more chances to score than KWU.

"Any other day we would have made those goals," Shaw said. "I think the game could have easily ended 2-1 for us."

Sophomore midfielder Raechelle Sloan was particularly proud of the heart and determination the team showed throughout the loss.

"We knew what we had to do, even with the goal [by KWU] we never gave up," Sloan said.

Both Shaw and Sloan admit that the season being over hasn't really struck them yet but probably will within the next couple of days.

"It will be hard to realize the season is over, but we are looking forward," Shaw said, appreciating the support from both the school and students. "We have so much potential. It's a special bunch of girls."

With six players earning All-KCAC honors, the future looks bright for the Lady Braves.

"We had the KCAC Freshman of the Year in Amanda Just and the KCAC Goalkeeper of the Year Lauren Piel, who is also a freshman," Grisham said. "It will be exciting to see what the team can do if we stay united."

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