The Emory University Women's Soccer team concluded the 2016 season with an overall record of 9-5-3, the 28th consecutive winning season for the program. The Eagles added a 2-2-3 mark in University Athletic Association action to finish fourth in the conference standings.
Emory's schedule was among the toughest in Division III again in 2016 with six teams on the docket earning berths to the NCAA Tournament including three teams that advanced to the national semifinals and eventual national champion Washington University. The Eagles went 2-3-1 against such teams including wins over National Semifinalist University of Chicago and Centre College.
Emory opened the season 2-3 with wins over Averett College (7-0) and the University of Redlands (3-0) before rattling off five straight victories, the longest winning streak of the season, to improve to 7-3 overall. During the streak, the Eagles collected their two most impressive wins of the year, defeating previously unbeaten 23rd-ranked Centre College and 4th-ranked Chicago in back-to-back outings.
On September 25th, freshman Caroline Kolski knocked in a rebound following a shot from junior Melinda Altamore in the 103rd minute to give the Eagles a 3-2 double overtime decision over the Colonels, snapping Centre's 19-game regular season unbeaten streak. Emory remains the only program to knock off the Colonels in the regular season over the past two seasons.
Six days later, the Eagles began UAA play on a high note, topping the Maroons 2-0 to give Emory its first win over a team ranked in the NSCAA Top-5 since November 8th, 2014. Senior Cristina Ramirez and Kolski netted goals for the Eagles in the contest while the defense held UC to just nine shots total, the first time all season the Maroons were held to 10 or fewer shot attempts.
Emory closed out the year going 2-2-3 in its last seven games, picking up victories over Case Western Reserve (4-0) and Division II Brevard College (5-0) while the defeats were a pair of one-goal losses to Top-20 foes in Carnegie Mellon (#19) and WashU (#15). The Eagles played to a double overtime draw in their final three contests against 19th-ranked Brandeis University, New York University and University of Rochester.
The Eagles final win of the season on October 25th over the Tornados of Brevard College proved to be a milestone victory for Head Coach Sue Patberg as the win marked the 300th of her career. She became the 56th head coach in NCAA Women's Soccer history to reach that achievement.
Emory was once again led by phenomenal defensive play throughout the season, led by senior captain Hannah Meyer. Meyer and company posted a 1.00 goals-against average (18 goals in 17 games) and limited opposing teams to averages of 7.3 shots and 3.4 shots per game including holding opponents to 10 or fewer shot attempts in 13 out of 18 contests.
Thanks to her work on defense, Meyer was selected to the All-University Athletic Association First Team for the second consecutive season and was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) South All-Region Third Team for the first time in her career. She added Academic All-District honors as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as well for her performance in the classroom as well as on the playing field.
On offense, the Eagles were led by a pair of newcomers in freshmen Shivani Beall and Kolski. Beall recorded one of the better freshman seasons in recent Emory history, starting in all 17 contests and posted team-highs in goals (5), assists (8), points (18) and shots on goal (24). She became just the third Eagle ever to be named the UAA Rookie of the Year and the first since Meyer in 2013. Kolski finished second on the team with 13 points, tying for the team lead with five goals and dishing out three assists. She was one of four Eagles to be named an UAA Honorable Mention.
Ramirez and sophomore Grace Edgarton also registered double-digit points for the Eagles in 2016 as both players finished with 11 points. Ramirez earned All-UAA honors for the first time in her four-year career, joining Kolski as Honorable Mention selections, after finishing with four goals and three assists. Edgarton tied for the team lead with Beall and Kolski with five goals and added an assist in a key reserve role for the Eagles.
Also earning All-UAA Honorable Mention recognition were junior Anna Gurney and sophomore Danielle Darius. Gurney made 15 starts on the year at the center midfielder position, finishing with a career-high seven points (2G, 3A) with all seven points coming in Emory victories (4-0). Darius appeared in 17 contests, making 13 starts on defense. She added three goals and one assist for a career-best seven points and registered the game-winner in overtime as Emory topped Berry 3-2 on September 21st.
Despite missing the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, the Eagles will graduate just two seniors in Meyer and Ramirez and are set to return a strong nucleus for the 2017 season.
The Eagles earned the following honors during the 2016 season:
NSCAA South All-Region |
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Third Team |
Austin, TX (Westlake) |
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All-University Athletic Association |
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First Team |
Austin, TX (Westlake) |
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First Team |
Atlanta, GA (The Paideia School) |
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Honorable Mention |
Boca Raton, FL (Saint Andrew's) |
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Honorable Mention |
Lutz, FL (Steinbrenner High School) |
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Honorable Mention |
Palmetto Bay, FL (Ransom Everglades) |
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Honorable Mention |
Bethesda, MD (Walt Whitman) |
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University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year |
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Atlanta, GA (The Paideia School) |
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CoSIDA Academic All-District |
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Austin, TX (Westlake) |
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UAA Athletes of the Week |
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Nikki Batt (Defensive) |
Ashburn, VA (Briar Woods) |
Oct. 3rd |
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Cristina Ramirez (Offensive) |
Boca Raton, FL (Saint Andrew's) |
Oct. 18th |
2016 Emory team leaders:
Goals |
5 |
|
Assists |
8 |
|
Points |
18 |
|
Game Winning Goals |
2 |
|
Shots |
53 |
|
Shots on Goal |
24 |
|
Wins |
7 |
|
Saves |
30 |
|
Shutouts |
4 |
|
Goals Against Average |
0.95* |
*Minimum 900 Minutes
Emory in the final NCAA Division III statistical rankings (out of 433 ranked teams):
Category |
Rank |
Total |
Scoring Offense |
104th |
2.24 |
Goals-Against Average |
114th |
1.00 |
Shutout Percentage |
127th |
.412 |
Won-Lost-Tied Percentage |
110th |
.618 |
Save Percentage |
385th |
.684 |
Saves Per Game |
423rd |
2.29 |
Assists Per Game |
33rd |
2.18 |
Points Per Game |
82nd |
6.65 |
Total Assists |
64th |
37 |
Total Goals |
128th |
38 |
Total Points |
112th |
113 |
Shots Per Game (30 teams ranked) |
10th |
22.71 |
Eagles in the final NCAA Division III individual statistical rankings (top-200 players ranked):
Category |
Name |
Rank |
Total |
Assists Per Game |
61st |
0.47 |
|
Goals-Against Average |
101st |
0.948 |
|
Total Assists |
83rd |
8 |