Southeast soccer will try to rejoin OVC elite

~ The Redhawks want to re-establish themselves in the 2010 season.

A two-year absence from the Ohio Valley Conference tournament has the Southeast Missouri State soccer team hungry and motivated.

The Redhawks rebounded to post an 8-7-3 record last year after their 2-9-3 mark in 2008 that was the worst in the tradition-rich program's history.

But the 2009 Redhawks failed to make the OVC tournament for the second straight time after they finished seventh in the nine-team league. Only the top six qualify.

"It's definitely motivation," senior forward Ashley Runion said. "We're looking forward to the season. We want to do really well, and we expect to."

Southeast coach Heather Nelson, who started the program in 1999, sees no reason why the Redhawks can't make their way back toward the top of the OVC.

"As long as we continue to get better every week, we'll be a contender," said Nelson, who has an 11-year record of 110-63-23 along with two NCAA tournament berths. "I'm confident we're athletic enough."

That inaugural 1999 campaign had marked the only time Southeast did not make the OVC tournament until the past two years.

Southeast features a blend of returning experience and promising newcomers entering Sunday's 2 p.m. season opener at home against Belmont.

"We've got a good mix of players," Runion said. "As of now, everybody is doing a great job."

The Redhawks are young, with nine freshmen and eight sophomores. There are only six upperclassmen, including three juniors, two seniors and a transfer graduate student.

There is plenty of experience despite the youth. Nine full-time starters are back and the other three returning players started at least one game. Twenty of Southeast's 25 goals last year were scored by players on the current roster.

"We've just got a lot more depth, which is really exciting," Nelson said. "Every player in our program can contribute."

Southeast's seniors are Runion and midfielder Vanessa Hart, both top players since they were freshmen.

Runion, the 2007 OVC freshman of the year, earned her second spot on the all-conference second team last year as she had four goals and a squad-high three assists to rank among the league's top 10 with 11 points. She was among four Southeast players to start all 18 games in 2009.

Hart, second-team all-OVC as a freshman in 2007, battled through an injury-plagued sophomore season but returned last year to record three goals and one assist for seven points. She tied for third on the squad in goals and tied for fourth in points.

But Hart suffered a torn ACL in the spring and her status for this season is up in the air. She has the option of redshirting and retaining her final season of eligibility.

Defenders Nikki Edwards and Shona Goodwin, two of the juniors, were starters last year. Edwards started all 18 games.

Midfielder Taylor Thomas, the final junior, made six starts and scored two goals.

Most of the sophomore class gained valuable experience last year, including area products Bobbi Jo Schlick and Courtney Luehmann.

Schlick, a forward from Jackson High School, earned a spot on the OVC's all-newcomer team after leading Southeast in goals with six and points with 13.

Schlick, who started all 18 games, ranked among the league's top five in goals, points and game-winning goals with four.

Luehmann, a defender and midfielder from Notre Dame Regional High School, started 17 times. She contributed two assists.

"They both had very good freshmen seasons," Nelson said.

Sophomore defender Hayley Abbott, the final player to start all 18 games, was Southeast's lone all-OVC first-team selection. She also made the league's all-newcomer squad after scoring two goals and contributing an assist.

Other returning sophomore starters are midfielder Ali Bauer and goalkeeper Kristen Starkey.

Bauer had two goals and a team-high three assists to tie for fourth on the team with seven points. Starkey compiled an 0.81 goals-against average.

Sophomore midfielder Kelly Goehring made three starts while sophomore defender Meg Herndon started once. Goehring had one goal and two assists.

The final sophomore is newcomer Siobhan Symington, who plays midfield and forward.

Lending additional experience is Lauren Bozesky, a transfer from Saint Louis University who is in her last season of eligibility as a graduate student. She is fully recovered from injuries that plagued her during her final two year with the Billikens.

"She's a good addition to our program," Nelson said.

Nelson is high on the nine freshmen, several of whom started Southeast's two exhibition games and figure to be in the lineup for Sunday's season opener.

The freshmen are goalkeepers Ashton Aubuchon and Jessica Grindstaff; defender Chelsea Ballard; midfielders Rachel Compton and Amy Ward; and forwards Jacey Boyko, Taylor Byrd, Signe Novak and Stephanie Palmer.

Aubuchon and Grindstaff shared the bulk of the goalkeeping duties during the exhibition contests, both shutout wins.

Novak had one of Southeast's three exhibition goals while Boyko recorded a team-high two assists.