by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C.–The Barton College women's soccer team will make its 2014 season debut under first-year head coach Todd Clark on Thursday afternoon when it visits Fayetteville, N.C., to take on Methodist University in a 5 p.m. matchup at the Monarch Soccerplex.
Methodist sports information will provide video and live stats of Thursday's match.
Barton soccer fans can follow the Bulldogs throughout the season on www.BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter and Facebook.
Barton College Women's Soccer
The Lady Bulldogs begin their quest to match or exceed last year's 14-5-1 record – the second-best mark in school history – with an experienced roster that includes 17 returning letterwinners. Barton has two players, senior keeper Carson Moore and senior defender Nicole Smith, who have each made 50 career starts, and senior midfielder Adrianna Jimenez is just short of that total. The Lady Bulldogs have three others with 29 starts or more, and nine total players with at least one complete season worth of starts.
Among those back are three all-conference players from a season ago – midfielders Emily Futral and Kathryn Smith and defender Kasey Byzewski – as well as Moore, who was a 2012 all-conference pick.
Both Futral and Byzewski also picked up NSCAA All-Southeast Region acclaim last year, Futral after ranking seventh in the conference in scoring (nine goals) and points (22), and Byzewski after sharing the league lead in assists (nine) and anchoring a defense that allowed just 1.1 goals per game.
Smith posted five goals and three assists in her freshman campaign, while Moore recorded more than 100 saves (second-best in the league) for a third straight year and six shutouts in more than 1,800 minutes in goal.
Barton added eight freshmen to the roster, and several of them are likely to make their first collegiate starts against the Monarchs.
The Lady Bulldogs are 3-3 all-time against Methodist. However, the two teams have only met once in the last decade, with the Monarchs claiming a 3-0 home victory in Barton's final match of the 2011 season. Barton last defeated Methodist 1-0 in overtime in Wilson in 2001.
Methodist University Women's Soccer
The Monarchs, NCAA Division III members of the USA South Conference, were picked to finish fourth in the league's preseason poll following an 11-7-2 campaign in 2013, but have gotten off to an 0-2 start so far this year.
Methodist opened the season with a pair of losses last week in Aurora, Ill., in the Chelsea Lloyd Memorial Classic. The Monarchs dropped a 3-1 decision to host Aurora University, then fell by a 3-0 count to Otterbein University.
The Monarchs struggled on both ends of the pitch in those contests against fellow NCAA Division III programs, allowing 26 combined shots while managing just six. Sophomore forward Cassie Poindexter scored the team's goal against Aurora off an assist from freshman Melissa Jubin.
Junior Taylor Ross and freshman Meaghan O'Meara split keeper duties in the opening contest, with Ross playing the entire contest against Otterbein. Ross played in 14 games a season ago, starting eight. She posted a 3-4-0 record in those matches with a 1.01 goals against average and .791 save percentage in just over 800 minutes.
Head coach Bryan Madej, beginning his fourth full season after one year as interim coach, returns most of last year's squad, including a pair of all-conference picks – junior forward Taylor Cavazos and sophomore defender Eryka Underwood.
Cavazos led the team with nine goals, five of them game-winners, and 21 points, while Underwood started all 20 games as a freshman. Methodist also returns its second-leading scorer, sophomore Deycasha Miller (seven goals and 15 points).
The Monarchs added 13 newcomers to the roster as well.
