Sept. 4, 2009

Leo Weil enters his 18th season as head coach of the Johns Hopkins women's soccer program; the Blue Jays are searching for their fifth consecutive conference title and another NCAA Tournament berth. In 2008 the Blue Jays finished the season a program best 18-1-4 and their only loss came at the hands of William Smith in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. JHU will not be taken lightly this season as it enters the season ranked sixth in the NSCAA Division III Pre-Season Poll; the highest ranking in the program's history. While the Blue Jays will have to fill the void of four starters lost to graduation, there is plenty of talent returning.

Defense

Senior goalkeeper Karen Guszkowski earned Second Team All-Centennial Conference honors and a spot on the All-Mid Atlantic Region Second Team a year ago. Last year Guszkowski boasted an impressive 0.38 goals against average and set career-highs in saves (68), save percentage (0.895) and shutouts (13). "It's very comforting to have Karen back," Weil noted of his defensive leader. "She is strong and athletic and has developed into a great leader. She may be the best goalie we've had here." Guszkowski has started 45 of 49 games, compiled 131 saves and notched 22 shutouts in her career.

Sophomore Kristen Redsun will serve in a reserve role as the team's goalkeeper. Last season Redsun played in seven games with one start.

Junior defender Jenn Paulucci was named a First Team NSCAA All-American last season and is one of four returning starters on defense. She led a defense in 2008 that allowed just 12 goals in 23 games and posted 17 shutouts. Paulucci has twice earned First Team All-Centennial honors and was the only unanimous first team selection in 2008. "Jenn works extremely hard and she is a smart player that plays with a certain flare that everyone notices," said Weil.

Sarah Gieszl returns for her junior season after earning Second Team All-Mid Atlantic Region accolades a year ago. Gieszl also received Third Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors and a spot on the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll after starting in each of her 22 games.

Junior Rhiannon Desideri and sophomore Alison Smith return for another year hoping to build off the experience they gained a year ago. Desideri played in 22 games, making 15 starts. Smith appeared in all 23 games and started nine.

Senior Mary Kate Franchetti will provide additional leadership for the Blue Jays.

Sophomores Pam Kopfensteiner and Sasha Reyes-Guerra have a year of experience under their belt and will provide depth to an already stingy Blue Jays defense.

Midfield

JHU enters the 2009 season with a good mixture of talent and experience at midfield. Senior Natalie Held returns for the Blue Jays to patrol the midfield for a fourth consecutive season. Held has started 61 of 64 games, tallying six goals and six assists in her career. Held registered a career-high in assists last season with four, which included the assist on Caitlin Moore's game-winner at Dickinson. Weil acknowledges that Held plays an integral part in the team's success. "Natalie is the key in the midfield; she is a good distributor, and since becoming a captain she has really stepped up."

Junior Sara Tankard looks to build on a breakout season where she played in all 23 games, with 13 starts last season. Tankard recorded three goals while tallying three assists for the season. Her first goal on the season was the game-winning goal against Oneonta.

Sophomore Colleen Quinlan will provide additional depth in the midfield. Quinlan provided great minutes as a reserve last season and totaled two goals and two assists. Last season she played in 20 games and started one.

Senior Sarah Roeder looks to bounce back after being sidelined by a knee injury for most of the 2008 season.

Forward

The Blue Jays return a young but skilled frontline that combined for 30 goals last season. Sophomore Erica Suter will lead the Blue Jays' offense. Suter was the only freshman to be named to the All-Mid Atlantic Region squad in 2008, earning third team honors. Suter led the Blue Jays with 12 goals while adding three assists for 27 points in her freshman campaign. Suter was a First Team All-Centennial Conference selection and led the conference in scoring. "Erica is a good player with great potential, and as she learns how to go to the goal she could become an even more dangerous threat," Weil stated.

Junior Allie Zazzali is looking to build on last year's success and have another outstanding year. The Scotch Plains, NJ native finished second on the team in goals with six despite only starting five games. Zazzali scored her first goal last season at St. Mary's (MD) to force overtime.

Moore started 16 of 23 games last season posting five goals and recording five assists. "Caitlin scored some big goals at the end of the season for us, she became a consistent scorer," noted Weil. Moore finished third on the team in goals.

Junior Erin Stafford made 11 starts and appeared in all 23 games. Stafford looks to continue to be a clutch performer for the Blue Jays in 2009. The Doylestown, PA native scored three game-winning goals last season.

Weil expects Leslie O'Brien to have a breakout year in 2009. "Leslie played both forward and midfield, but when she moved to forward she gained more confidence. I look for her to have a big year." The sophomore forward scored the game-winning goal against TCNJ to give Hopkins its first win over the Lions in program history. O'Brien started three games in her rookie season.

Claire Pelura returns for her senior season. Last season Pelura played in 15 games, tallying one goal.

Sophomore Paulina Goodman played in 19 games with 10 starts. She scored three goals, including the game-winner against Swarthmore, and recorded one assist in 2008.

Sophomore Ava Scheininger will provide added depth to the forward position. The Westfield, NJ native appeared in nine games scoring one goal on the season.

Schedule

The 2009 Johns Hopkins women's soccer team opens its season with a challenging first four games. The Blue Jays play four teams ranked in the preseason top 10, including William Smith which handed the 2008 team its only lost a year ago.

Weil, as in previous years, has assembled a brutal out of conference schedule to prepare his team for a postseason run in November. He feels his team is poised to reach the program's ultimate goal, which is to win the first national championship in the program's history. "We have the potential to be very good and even better than last year," Weil noted.

The Blue Jays open their season by hosting eighth-ranked Washington University in the JHU Invitational and conclude the tournament against the 10th-ranked Lynchburg Hornets the following afternoon. "We wanted to make our tournament highly competitive and we were fortunate to get Washington University and Lynchburg on the schedule, Weil added. This will certainly prepare us as we move forward."

The going gets tougher three days later as the Blue Jays travel to Grantham, PA to take on last year's national champion and this year's number one-ranked team, Messiah. Next the Blue Jays look to avenge their only loss from a year ago as they travel to Geneva, NY to play in the Heron Cup, where they open the tournament against fourth-ranked William Smith. The Blue Jays will face Carnegie Mellon on the second day of the tournament.

JHU returns to Homewood Field to play non-conference foe Misericordia, a team the Blue Jays defeated 2-0 a season ago in Dallas, PA. The final non-conference game will be against St. Mary's (MD) which posted a 12-3-3 record last season. The Blue Jays begin their conference schedule at Washington College on September 19.

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