AZUSA, Calif. -- The Azusa Pacific women’s soccer program has some unfinished business.
A year ago, Azusa Pacific was literally within inches of bringing back the program’s second NAIA championship. The Cougars out-shot Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) by a 33-18 margin in the title game, including a 26-8 advantage in regulation. In the first sudden-death overtime period, Bridget Brotherton headed a ball into the Blue Raiders goal but was whistled offside. With just seconds left in the first overtime, Theresa Broad drilled a sinking drive that skimmed the top of the crossbar.
However, the only statistic that mattered was a 15-yard rocket off the right foot of Lindsey Wilson’s Kristine Pedersen, a picture-perfect line drive that found the upper right corner and handed the Cougars a gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat.
Nine years after claiming the first NAIA title in program history in its first national tournament appearance, the undisputed goal of the 2007 Cougars is to wrap up one of the most successful decades in NAIA women’s soccer history with the national crown it came so close to securing last year on that chilly November night in Olathe, Kan.
Over the past 9 years, Azusa Pacific has appeared in every NAIA Tournament, advancing to the quarterfinals 7 times, the semifinals 6 times, and the title match 3 times. The Cougars have ranked no lower than sixth in the final NAIA Coaches Poll each season since 1998. The Golden State Athletic Conference is the toughest NAIA women’s soccer conference, and Azusa Pacific has claimed 6 conference crowns since 1998 while posting a stellar 70-6-5 conference mark over the past 9 seasons.
Five-time GSAC Coach of the Year Jason Surrell has more weapons at his disposal than ever before in his 8 years at the helm of Azusa Pacific’s women’s soccer program, as the 2007 Cougars feature the return of 4 NAIA All-Americans and 8 starters. Surrell had never before kept more than 3 NAIA All-Americans from the previous season, and he is carrying unprecedented depth on his 25-player roster.
A decade ago, Azusa Pacific prefaced its 1998 title run with a 1997 campaign in which an explosive young offense scored what was then a program-record 67 goals. Freshman forward Kendra Payne scored 22 goals as a 1997 freshman, the first of 4 20-goal seasons for the 1998 NAIA Player of the Year.
Ten years later, Azusa Pacific is again coming off a campaign in which it scored exactly 67 goals behind a revitalized attack led by a freshman forward. Broad tallied 24 goals as a collegiate rookie, and for the first time since the late 1990s, Azusa Pacific returns over 85 percent of its scoring production.
In addition, a defense led by 3-time NAIA All-American goalkeeper Jill Colfer-Martinson heads into the 2007 season with the best 3-year (30 goals allowed) and 4-year (44 goals allowed) scoring defense totals in program history.
“Our seniors have been through it, and they know what it takes,” said Surrell, who has compiled a 7-year career mark of 118-17-12 and last year became the second-fastest NAIA coach to reach 100 wins. “Our team as a whole is getting stronger. The talent level is good, and we are deeper than last year. The key for us this year is going to be how well the returning players can communicate what it takes to play at the highest level with the new players.”
Forwards
The undisputed strength of the 2007 Cougars lies in the potent front line, led by returning starters Broad and Brotherton, both NAIA All-American honorees in 2006. Broad, a first team selection and the NAIA Region II Player of the Year, tallied 24 goals, the third-highest single-season total in program history and the most ever for a Cougar freshman.
Broad, who started the year as a defender, scored 3 goals in the first 6 games before finally landing a starting spot as a forward. Once she made the move to the front, Broad tallied 8 multiple-goal games, including 2 hat tricks. She buried 7 of Azusa Pacific’s 13 goals in 3 NAIA regional playoff games.
Brotherton, meanwhile, merited NAIA All-American third team recognition after finishing with 15 goals and 7 assists. Brotherton and Broad comprised a formidable offensive tandem that either scored or assisted goals in 20 of the Cougars’ 23 games in 2006.
Junior Sarah Yoro also returns after a 9-goal, 5-assist campaign as a 2006 sophomore. The speedy, left-footed Yoro started 21 games last year, and she will likely return to the starting lineup as either a forward or as an attacking midfielder.
Mari Kasamoto returns for her senior campaign after receiving a medical redshirt in 2006. Kasamoto was slated for a starting role last year before the early-season injury, and she can also be considered for forward or midfield roles. Senior Sara Odenthal has appeared in every Cougar contest over the past 2 seasons, and she recorded 3 goals and 3 assists as a key reserve in 2006.
Sophomore transfer Brittany Walker spent her 2006 freshman campaign at NCAA Division II Alabama-Huntsville, where she started 13 of 16 games. She was the fifth-leading scorer for the 9-6-1 Chargers, registering 3 goals and 4 assists. She is joined by a fellow newcomer, athletic freshman Kelsey Walker (no relation to Brittany), a 2-sport league MVP from Cedar Park Christian High in Kirkland, Wash.
Midfielders
Three of 4 starters return in a versatile Cougar midfield, led by senior captain Randie Massro, a fixture in Azusa Pacific’s central midfield over the past 3 seasons. Massro, an NAIA All-American third team selection in 2006, has started all 63 games for the Cougars since arriving as a 2004 freshman. She matched her career-high with 4 goals last year, including a diving header that lifted the Cougars to a 1-0 win over Westmont in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Tournament, and she assisted a career-high 6. When the heart of Azusa Pacific’s defense, GSAC Player of the Year Julie Fletcher, was lost to injury for the remainder of the NAIA Tournament, Massro was the one who stepped in to solidify the Cougar back line. She earned NAIA All-Tournament honors as a defender for her efforts.
Junior captain Karen Lawrence also stepped into a key role for a depleted defense during the Cougars’ 2006 NAIA Tournament run, and she was named the tournament’s Outstanding Defensive Player. Lawrence scored on a long free kick for a “golden goal” in a 1-0 overtime victory in the regular season over eventual Region II runner-up Vanguard, and she curled in a corner kick for the game-winner in a 3-1 NAIA semifinal win over Concordia (Ore.).
Junior Saxony Ifland is the third returning starter in the midfield after starting the final 13 games of her 2006 sophomore campaign.
The graduation of NAIA All-American first teamer Jolie Nitta, along with her 9-goal, 8-assist production from the central midfield, opens up a starting spot that may be filled by a seasoned attacking midfielder or by 1 of 6 talented newcomers.
Junior Mandi Morrow has significant GSAC playing experience, appearing in 19 conference games for The Master’s from 2003-04. Morrow returns to competitive soccer after a 2-year layoff. Sophomore Sadie Jewell, originally recruited to Azusa Pacific for the 2005 season, also returns to the field after 2 years battling injuries.
Sophomore Brittany Lane joins twin sister Lauren at Azusa Pacific, transferring from Mt. San Antonio College after an All-South Coast Conference freshman campaign in which she tallied 12 goals and 5 assists for the Mounties. Jennie Cress, Lynsey Domene and Emily Shirk are all freshmen who will press for playing time in what could be the Azusa Pacific’s deepest position in 2007.
Defenders
The biggest question mark facing the defending NAIA runner-up is the center of its defense, which lost 2006 GSAC Player of the Year Julie Fletcher and her 2-year starting mate Mandy Heins. Junior Lauren Vroom is a 2-year starter who was slowed by injuries last season, while sophomore Lauren Lane played every game and started the final 15 games for the Cougars in 2006. Both have looked strong in their bids to return to the starting lineup.
Sophomore transfer Katie Rorabaugh should take 1 of the vacant center back spots after a season as the starting left back for NCAA Division I Sacramento State. Rorabaugh was the 2006 CIF Defensive Player of the Year at Walnut High, where she helped lead the Mustangs to 4 straight undefeated San Antonio League titles and 3 straight CIF championships (2003-05).
Junior Grace Eleyae returns after 2 seasons of work as a reserve in the Cougar defense. Eleyae has appeared in 8 of Azusa Pacific’s 13 postseason contests during her first 2 seasons, and she is joined by fellow returnee Tiffany Makinster, a tough sophomore defender who may also compete for a starting spot.
Other candidates for playing time are freshmen Jasmine De La Fuente, Tara Donavanik and Kjersti Lang, each of whom had connections to Azusa Pacific through their high school coaches, and each of whom may also see time in the midfield.
De La Fuente played for 1989 Cougar men’s soccer alum Ab Alvarez at Capital Christian High in Sacramento, Calif., where she was named Golden Empire League co-MVP after leading the Cougars to back-to-back CIF San Joaquin Section championships. Donavanik played 4 seasons at South Hills High in West Covina, Calif., where she was a 2-year captain and 2-time All-San Antonio League pick for head coach and current Azusa Pacific assistant Scott Mocabee. Lang played for Dave Blomquist at Santa Fe Christian High in Solana Beach, Calif., until 2006, when Blomquist joined the Cougar men’s coaching staff.
Goalkeepers
Colfer-Martinson is the only goalkeeper on the 2007 roster, but after earning 3 consecutive NAIA All-American selections and starting 59 of the Cougars’ 63 contests during her career, Colfer-Martinson is certainly accustomed to feeling at home in goal. In fact, she has logged nearly 95 percent of Azusa Pacific’s goalkeeper minutes since 2004. Colfer-Martinson has a career record of 50-4-5, and she needs to add only 3 shutouts to her current career total of 37 to break the Cougar career shutout record. Her career 0.45 goals against average puts her on pace to shatter the Azusa Pacific career GAA mark currently held by Melissa Strother (0.59).
Schedule
Azusa Pacific’s regular season schedule includes rematches with 3 of the Cougars’ 4 national tournament foes from 2006, starting with the season opener, a 5 p.m. meeting with 2006 NAIA semifinalist Concordia (Ore.) on Sat., Aug. 25 in Azusa.
A visit to Columbia, Ky., along with defending NAIA runner-up Cougar men’s soccer program, wraps up the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Cougars first meet 2006 NAIA quarterfinalist Lee (Tenn.) on Fri., Sept. 14, before taking on defending NAIA champion Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) on Sat., Sept. 15. The meeting between last year’s title game participants pits the NAIA powers in a regular-season head-to-head matchup for the fourth consecutive year.
Azusa Pacific’s 6 non-conference opponents combined for 98 victories in 2006, posting a combined .785 winning percentage. Other non-conference foes include NCAA Division II Cal State Dominguez Hills (Aug. 28), second-year program Cal State San Marcos (Sept. 7) and Graceland (Iowa) (Sept. 8), which went 17-1-1 in 2006 and narrowly missed the NAIA Tournament after suffering a shootout defeat to McKendree (Ill.) in the NAIA Region V championship.
The Cougars kick off Golden State Athletic Conference play on Wed., Sept. 26, under the brand-new lights at Fresno Pacific, followed by the conference home opener on Sat., Sept. 29, when San Diego Christian visits the Cougar Soccer Complex in the first of 3 straight home contests. Westmont, the 2006 NAIA quarterfinal victim of a 1-0 battle with the Cougars, visits Azusa Pacific on Tue., Oct. 2.
