2016 Olivet College Women's Soccer Preview

2016 Olivet College Women's Soccer Preview
August 24, 2016

A year ago, the Olivet College women's soccer team was picked to finish ninth in the preseason Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) coaches' poll. The Comets exceeded those prognostications with a fourth-place finish and trip to the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament, while posting an 11-6-3 overall record.

This season, the coaches have picked Olivet to finish in seventh-place. Second-year head coach Kim McGowan is optimistic the Comets can once again do better than her peers think.

McGowan has reason to be hopeful since Olivet welcomes back its top three scorers from the 2015 team. Leading the way is junior Isabelle Leon. She started every game last season and registered a team-leading 23 points on 10 goals and three assists. Six of her 10 goals were game-winners. Leon enters her junior campaign with 49 career points (20 goals and nine assists), the most for any returning player.

Sophomore Emma Essen was second in scoring with 13 points (six goals and one assist) during her rookie season at Olivet. Junior Emily Reinecke ranked third with 11 points (four goals and three assists). She has 25 career points (nine goals and seven assists). The only other player on this year's roster who scored points last season is junior Miranda Quick, who had three assists.

Other returning letterwinners are juniors Rachael Durocher, Dominique Giroux and Kaitlin Irish, and sophomores Ann Fetzer, McKenna Graham and Tori Phillips. Giroux and Graham are the only two who played in more than half of the games last season.

The roster is bolstered by 12 recruits. All 12 will have an opportunity to play this season and have an impact on the team.

The Comets will kick off the 2016 season Thursday, Sept. 1, with a 4 p.m. home game against Bluffton (Ohio) University. Olivet's other non-conference games are a weekend trip to Chicago when it plays Elmhurst College Saturday, Sept. 3, and North Park (Ill.) University Sunday, Sept. 4. Both games have a 3 p.m. EST start time. The Comets' MIAA-opener is Wednesday, Sept. 7, at Adrian College. Game time is 7 p.m.