Joining the team just one month before the first game, new Head Coach Sue Patberg led the Emory Eagles to a 13-3-2 record and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Late in the season, Emory achieved a national rank of 18th among NCAA Division III schools.

Led by seniors Nancy Wilson, Amy Franciscovich and Lauren Hudak, the Eagles thrived on close games and played exceptionally well with the lead. Emory finished with a record of 4-0-2 in overtime games and 7-1 in games decided by one goal. The Eagles were 10-0 in games in which they scored first.
Offensively the Eagles relied on the play of their captains, Wilson and Hudak, who were first and second on the team, respectively, in both points and goals.

Center midfielder Hudak was second on the team with four goals and 12 points. Her gutsy play going after every ball with abandon, often against much larger opponents, earned her a spot on the All-South Region second team and All-UAA second team.

Wilson, who captained the defense last year, made the All-South Region third team and All-UAA first team in an offensive role this season, leading the team with 16 points.  Of her seven goals, six were game winners, and three came in overtime.

On the defensive side of the ball, goalkeeper Franciscovich and the Emory defense did not give up a goal in the first seven games of the season. Franciscovich posted nine shutouts and a goals-against-average of 0.48. She led the UAA with an .877 save percentage, en route to All-South third team and All-UAA first team honors.

Led in the middle by junior Laurel O'Neal and freshman Leanna Racine, the Eagles defense did not squander a lead the entire season. In addition, the defense earned a shutout in every game in which the Eagles scored the first goal. O'Neal was named to the All-South third team, and Racine earned honorable mention to the all-conference team.

The Eagles opened the season strong going 7-0-2 in the first nine games and outscoring opponents 18 to 1. During that span, the squad traveled to the soccer hotbed of upstate New York for the Mayor's Cup.  Playing in the shadow of the Soccer Hall of Fame, the Eagles defeated their first opponent, Hartwick College (N.Y.), and setting the stage for a showdown with host SUNY-Oneonta (N.Y.).  While Oneonta outscored its opponents 87-13 during their historic 21-win season, Emory matched the Red Dragons in a 0-0 draw. The Eagles, on the basis of goal differential, were declared champions and awarded the prestigious Mayor's Cup trophy. Back home, Emory continued its roll, opening the UAA schedule with a 1-0 win over rival Washington University (Mo.), thanks to a late goal by Kristine Falk
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Following their first loss of the season, the Eagles rebounded quickly. In the span of 48 hours, the team tallied 1-0 overtime wins UAA opponents New York University and Brandeis University (Ma.).  Wilson scored the golden goals in both games, sparking a scoring binge; Wilson let loose for two goals in her next game, a 5-0 win over Greensboro (N.C.)

The Eagles finished strong with a 2-1 comeback win over Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.), once again thanks to a game winner by Wilson, who scored the winning goal against the Tartans for the third consecutive season. The Eagles finished UAA play 5-2, good for third in the conference.
The Eagles 12-2-2 regular season record earned a selection to the NCAA Division III tournament, and Emory was chosen as a host.

The Eagles opened the tournament against the University of the South (Tn.), who they tied earlier in the year 0-0. Again regulation time ended without a goal by either squad, but the Eagles triumphed in the 93rd minute on Wilson's third golden goal of the season.

The Eagles postseason run was stopped in the second round by the University of Puget Sound (Wa.), which finished the season ranked fifth in the nation, who topped the Eagles 2-0.  All three of the Eagles' losses came to nationally-ranked teams, while Emory tied or defeated three top-20 schools.

The selection marked Emory's ninth NCAA appearance and its fourth selection as a host.
This was Coach Patberg's eighth NCAA tournament appearance, and Emory's win on Sept. 16 was her 150th win as a head coach.

The following Eagles received post-season honors:

Amy Franciscovich
Selected to the first team of the All-University Athletic Association squad, senior Amy Franciscovich started every game in the goal, leading the Eagles to 13 shutouts including earning nine shutouts individually. Her nine shutouts included three overtime 1-0 wins, two of which against UAA opponents and the other in the first round of the NCAA tournament, as well as two 110-minute shutouts in 0-0 ties. Her 26 career shutouts are first in Emory history. In 1513 minutes between the pipes, Franciscovich allowed just eight goals for a goals-against-average of 0.48, fifth best in school history. Leading a defense that did not give up a single lead all season, Franciscovich did not allow a goal for the first seven games of the season. She led the UAA with a .877 save percentage. Franciscovich finishes her career ranked first in Emory history in shutouts; second in wins (40); and third in goals-against-average (0.51), saves (201), and saves-per-game (3.53). Franciscovich was the Emory Defensive Athlete of the Week five times and UAA Defensive Athlete of the Week twice.

Lauren Hudak
Senior center-mid Lauren Hudak finished the season second on the team in goals (4), assists (4), points (12), and game-winning goals (2) and earned a spot on the All-University Athletic Association second team. Hudak finished her career with seven of her 12 career goals being game winners, which ranks tenth in Emory history. Hudak controlled the pace of the game as a playmaker for the Eagles including an assist setting up a breakaway for the game-winning goal against Washington University (Mo.). Hudak was the Eagles' Offensive Athlete of the Week twice and the UAA Offensive Athlete of the Week once. This is Hudak's second consecutive All-UAA selection.

Leanna Racine
Freshman Leanna Racine played every game in the center of an Emory defense that did not give up a lead all season to earn an Honorable Mention to the All-University Athletic Association team. Racine was the backbone of a defense that did not allow a goal in any of the 11 games in which the Eagles scored first and which earned 13 shutouts, third most in Eagle history. The defense held opponents to three or fewer shots in seven matches and to one or no shots-on-goal six times. Racine scored her first collegiate goal against Rhodes College to tie the game in the 85th minute sending the game to overtime where the Eagles would win. Racine earned Emory Defensive Athlete of the Week Honors after the defense held Washington University (Mo.) to just three shots in Emory's 1-0 win to open UAA play.

Nancy Wilson
Senior Nancy Wilson, who captained the defense last year, led the Eagles offensively with seven goals, six of which were game winners, to earn a First Team All-University Athletic Association selection. Wilson led the Eagles in points with 16, all of which coming in the last eight games of the season. Over that stretch the Eagles were 6-2-0 with Wilson providing the game-winning goal in every win, three of which were overtime golden goals. With two goals and two assists, Wilson had six points and the game winner against Greensboro College (N.C.). This is Wilson's third consecutive All-UAA selection, her second First Team selection.

Written by A.J. Gochenaur, Emory sports information assistant