With only three seniors graduating from last year's team, and its top four scorers returning, Mount Vernon Nazarene's Lady Cougars soccer team looks to improve on its 8-9-1 mark of a year ago. The MVNU women's soccer team announced its season schedule for the fall of 2022, and with the slate of games comes optimism.
Coach Sarah Maracani's team will play a schedule that consists of five teams that ended the 2021 season in the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 poll. The schedule also consists of games outside of Ohio in Indiana, Michigan and Tennessee.
Maracani is in her fourth season as coach of Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's soccer. She is 31-19-9 in her career at MVNU, and 44-26-10 overall as a collegiate head coach. The Lady Cougars finished Crossroads League play with a 4-4-1 mark.
Last year, the Lady Cougars scored 27 goals on 231 shots taken, with 120 shots on goal, and the team allowed 30 goals against. The squad was led by Ashley Townsend, who scored a team-leading 10 goals last season and took 57 shots to lead the team, followed by Kayla Kaliachuk’s 21. Savannah Zambory, Brooklyn Bryant and Catlin Erlandson each tallied three goals. Townsend will be returning as a senior, Zambory is in her sophomore year, Erlandson returns as a senior, and Bryant will play in her sophomore season. Kalischuk has graduated
The Lady Cougars open their season at home on Aug. 20 at the newly finished CH4 Stadium against Indiana University-East. The meeting between the two teams will be the first time ever that each team has played the other. Following a trip to Lawrence Technological University on Aug. 24, MVNU will have a huge test early as it travels to the University of Tennessee Southern in Pulaski, Tenn., on Aug. 27. Tennessee Southern is the defending national champion and ended the 2021 season ranked No. 1.
Games against Siena Heights University (home), Cardinal Stritch University (away), Madonna University (away), the University of Rio Grande (home), Thomas More University (home), and Aquinas College (away) wrap up the team's non-conference schedule.
Crossroads League play begins on Sept. 24 at Taylor University. The Lady Cougars knocked off the Trojans 1-0 in last season's matchup. MVNU then plays host to Goshen College on Sept. 28 and Huntington University on Oct. 1 before hitting the road. The Lady Cougars play at Indiana Wesleyan University on Oct. 8 and Marian University on Oct. 12. Marian and Indiana Wesleyan ended 2021 ranked seventh and 12th in the NAIA, respectively.
After a home tilt with the University of Saint Francis on Oct. 15, MVNU plays at Spring Arbor University on Oct. 22. Spring Arbor ended 2021 as the regular season champion of the Crossroads League and finished fifth in the national rankings. The Lady Cougars' final road contest of the regular season takes place at Bethel University on Oct. 26.
MVNU's final regular-season home contest at CH4 Stadium is against the Lancers of Grace College on Oct. 29. The Lady Cougars ended Grace's Crossroads League Tournament run with a 2-1 upset road victory in the quarterfinals.
Crossroads League Tournament play is set to begin on Nov. 5.
