By Pat Mariboe
Senior Sports Writer
Women’s Soccer:
After a 3-11-2 overall record and zero wins in the Centennial Conference last season, the Shorewomen are looking to start their season off on a high when they go up against Rosemont College on Sept. 1. Junior Lexi Young scored the winning goal in the most recent contest against the Ravens last season in a 1-0 victory. The Shorewomen look to repeat last season’s outing against Rosemont on Thursday, this time captained by senior Paige Cahoon, sophomore Arianna Sabatino, junior Steph Scott, and senior Laura Tocci.
“Our returners have all stepped it up and have been impressive so far,” said Head Coach Kerry Smith. “Some of the incoming class look ready to contribute right away. Overall, they are working hard and we have great team chemistry; if they can maintain both over the entire season, we have the opportunity for a great season. Our main goal for this season is to keep getting better everyday and to improve our performance as a team game by game. If we do both, the results will follow.”
Men’s Soccer:
The Shoremen started off hot last season, winning their first four games in which they managed to outscore their opponents 13-0. They then went on to narrowly lose their next five games, two of which were close overtime defeats. They managed to pick their feet back up again and win their next five, but ended up missing the CC playoffs after losing their last three CC games. The Shoremen finished the season with an impressive 9-8 overall record. A familiar face is back again with the team, as recent graduate and player Chris Koch was named the assistant men’s coach in June. The Shoremen hope their seniors can make a strong presence this season, as all four captains are entering their final year as Washington College athletes.
Seniors Dimitri Kaliakin, Derek Stiles, Cole Strong, and Brian Wilkinson all look forward to getting their season off on the right foot when they travel to Aston, Pa. to face off against Neumann University on Sept. 1.
Volleyball:
After three straight winning seasons, the Shorewomen, led by fourth year Head Coach Jamie Leventry, look to add another to the tally. The Shorewomen haven’t had four straight winning seasons since the volleyball program started at Washington College in 1976. The Shorewomen narrowly missed out on their first CC Playoff appearance after finishing last season with a 17-10 overall record, 5-5 in the CC. The Shorewomen had an overall positive season, but narrow defeats against CC opponents Haverford, F&M, Swarthmore, Johns Hopkins, and Muhlenberg kept them from reaching their coveted goal of postseason play.
“We definitely want to improve our Conference record this year,” said junior Amy Rohn. “We’re always so close to making playoffs and this season we really want to close that gap. We also want to make sure we play with the same intensity the whole season and use non-Conference games to help prepare for the Conference ones.”
The Shorewomen start off their season in the DeSales Invitational on Sept. 2.
Field Hockey:
The Shorewomen, who finished with a 9-8 overall record last season, 4-6 in the CC, struggled later on in the season in the Conference and look to change that this season. The Shorewomen had a 3-1 record in the CC during the first part of the season, but went on to finish off the rest of their CC schedule with a 1-5 record. The Shorewomen start off this season with only five seniors, which leaves a lot of room for younger players to help motivate the team and make a difference, not only on the field, but off the field as well.
The Shorewomen started off last season with a 4-0 thumping of Hood College and they look to do the same this season, when they face off against Salisbury on Sept. 1. All games either have live stats or a live stream on the WC Athletic’s webpage.