JACKSON - After a disappointing season, a young Millsaps Majors Women's Soccer team looks to rebound and make a statement in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Majors return seven starters from a season ago as well as several key reserves. Many of the young players returning for the Majors started for the first time in their collegiate careers a season ago.
Head Coach Paul Van Hooydonk, entering his ninth year as head coach, made it very clear what his team's goal is.
“Our goal is to finish in the top 6 in the conference and to qualify for conference tournament,” says the coach.
The Majors field four seniors this season who look are being looked at as leaders among a young team.
“Each senior has a unique niche on the team—and as we all fill different positions on and off the field we balance each other with a united front of leadership,” says one of the Majors' seniors, Anne Waldrop. “We hope to give the physical, emotional and intellectual leadership necessary for our team's success.”
Waldrop appeared in four games last season and is joined by fellow seniors Molly Beth Jourdan, Courtney Sykes and Maddie Ortega. Jourdan appeared in 11 games last season making four starts. She made 47 saves on the season and had a save percentage of .734. Sykes started 17 games last season and appeared in all 19 as she was a primarily a defender for the Majors. She picked up one assist last season. Ortega appeared in eight games last season and did not record a stat.
Millsaps also welcomes back three primary scorers in junior Margaret Eggers and sophomores Dora Lambert and Grace Gremillion. The trio combined to score 11 goals on the season and added five assists. Eggers makes the move from defense to forward.
The Majors will look to their large sophomore class to continue to grow and make an impact on the field. The class, a total of 11 girls, saw a significant amount of playing time as freshman.
“The group as a whole is pretty talented and they can have a tremendous impact on our program as we move forward,” adds Van Hooydonk. “Just the year of understanding about the college game, the balancing of athletics and academics at the college level and getting comfortable in our program will make a huge difference.”
Waldrop adds, “Last years large recruitment class will play a big role on the field this season. As a whole, they are excellent players and now with an added year of maturity their presence on the field has been obvious at the start of this season.”
The Majors also welcome in three newcomers in Taylor Winslow, Maria Bujenovic, and Sarah Gaudet. However, Gaudet will miss this season as she recovers from knee surgery.
“We expect the two to make contributions immediately,” Van Hooydonk says. “Taylor brings some quickness and pace to our attack while Maria is a composed player who can play in both the midfield and defense.”
The Majors opened thing up unofficially last night against Hinds Community College in a three period scrimmage. Millsaps took the opener 1-0 thanks to a third period goal from Eggers. The Majors officially open things up on Wednesday against Louisiana College in Pineville. They then return for seven home games in the month of September including matchups with cross town rivals Belhaven and Mississippi College and two SCAC contests against Austin and Hendrix College. The Majors then only have three home games for the remainder of the season in October.
“The key to success for us this season lies in our ability to come together and play well as a team, not only as individuals,” exclaims Waldrop. “We have all the talent necessary, now we must build the team to make this season memorable and successful.”
