The Pacific women’s soccer team completed one of its most successful seasons in 2011, finishing with a 10-6-4 overall record and 7-5-4 mark in the Northwest Conference. Despite finishing fifth in the NWC, the Boxers proved to be the equal of all but one team. Only the slimmest of margins separated the teams that finished in the five spots behind 10-time conference champion Puget Sound. If not for an ill-timed injury, a hot goalkeeper and a few missed opportunities, the Boxers could easily have challenged the Loggers near the top of the conference.

As it is, Pacific fell one win shy of matching the program record for victories and achieved one of the best winning percentages in program history. Although the Boxers did not reach the postseason, they were instrumental in determining the 2011 NWC championship, defeating Willamette and tying Linfield in the final two weeks to knock both of those schools out of title contention.

A strong defense led by a senior-dominated backline and veteran junior goalkeeper helped the Boxers to a school-record goals-against average and earned a First Team All-NWC nod for one of their defenders. In all, six Boxers were honored on the All-NWC team with two of them eligible to return in 2012.

SHIGENO HEADLINES SIX ALL-NWC SELECTIONS: For the second consecutive year, the Boxers placed a player the All-NWC First Team, the first time that has happened since the 2001-03 seasons. A four-year starter, Teri Shigeno (Sr., Meridian, Idaho) capped her Boxer career with her second selection to the All-NWC team after earning an honorable mention in 2010.

Shigeno, a team captain and Pacific’s only first team honoree, was one of three Boxers who started all 20 games. The 5-foot-1 defender closed the season with two of her finest performances, as the Boxers knocked Willamette out of playoff contention with a 2-1 victory and scuppered Linfield’s conference title hopes with a 0-0 draw at Lincoln Park Stadium. Shigeno scored her only goal of the season on a penalty kick at Concordia (Ore.) on Sept. 11.

“Teri is a cultured player, who could contribute anywhere on the field,” said head coach Morgan Crabtree, “but she has embraced the role of center back.”

Jordan Bodily earned second team all-conference honors after leading Pacific in scoring, despite missing four conference games with an ankle injury. The powerful 5-foot-6 midfielder tied for sixth in the NWC with 15 points coming on six goals with three assists and was named NWC Offensive Student-Athlete Of The Week on Sept. 26 after scoring two goals, including the game-winner in overtime in a 3-2 win over Lewis & Clark.

“Jordan’s versatility and technical ability have made her one of the top players in the conference,” said Crabrree.

Forward Shekema McCarthy (Sr., Davis, Calif.) rounded out her Pacific career by earning a Second Team All-NWC selection after tying for third in the conference with a team-lead ing five assists. McCarthy also scored four goals, finishing second behind Bodily with 13 points. A four-year letter winner, McCarthy enjoyed her most productive season as a Boxer.

“Shekema blossomed into a dominant force this year,” said Crabtree. “Shekema has the strength, speed and finishing ability to put fear into any opposing defense.”
The Boxers also had three players earn honorable mention, with midfielder Bryanna DeLima and goalkeeper Brittany Hartmann selected for the second time. DeLima started all 20 games and scored the game-winning goal on a header in Pacific’s 2-1 home win over Willamette on Oct. 30, which essentially knocked the Bearcats out of playoff contention. Hartmann started 18 games in goal for Pacific and her seven shutouts tied a team record.

Newcomer Kailee Green (Fr., Hillsboro, Ore.) was one of Pacific’s most versatile players, earning Honorable Mention All-NWC status as a midfielder, while playing forward and defender as well. Green saw action in all 20 games with 17 starts and two of her four goals on the season were game-winners.

KEEPING THE GUARD UP: The Boxers allowed 22 goals during the 2011 season, which ranked fourth in the NWC. Pacific’s 1.05 goals against average was the third-best mark in the conference and established a new school record, breaking the previous mark of 1.19 set in 1993. Pacific also set a new team defensive mark with eight shutouts, breaking the previous standard of seven set in 1993 and matched in 1999.

The core of Pacific’s defensive unit featured First Team All-NWC center back Teri Shigeno, Honorable Mention All-NWC goalkeeper Brittany Hartmann and defender Trisha Tengan, one of three Boxers to start all 20 games.

The rest of the backline showcased a shifting cast, with newcomer Taylor Gillespie emerging as a starter in the latter part of the season, while Kaeli Laxson appeared in all 20 games with 14 starts and Shelyce Ichimura recorded eight starts. The veteran keeper Hartmann even saw her starting position challenged by Kayla Davidson, who recorded a perfect 3-0-0 mark in goal before her season ended prematurely with a concussion.

Hartmann, in her third season as Pacific’s first-string netminder, broke Colleen Readron’s 16-year-old team record with a 1.09 goals against average and matched Danalyn Ong’s record of seven shutouts, originally set in 1999, making her Pacific’s career leader in shutouts with 15, passing Shannon Tillman’s record of 13 set from 2003-06. Hartmann is also the winningest keeper in Pacific history, recording her 22nd goalkeeper win while also breaking the career shutout record in the Boxers’ 1-0 victory at Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 30. Hartmann recorded a season-high 10 saves in a 3-1 loss to NAIA power Concordia (Ore.).

Even with her impressive resume, Hartmann will face stiff competition from Davidson for minutes in goal next season. The sophomore backup goalkeeper saw her first actioin of the season in the second half of Pacific’s 2-0 victory over Lewis & Clark, earning the win after starting the second half of a scoreless draw. The following week, Davidson put on a spectacular show at Whitman, saving nine shots to help the Boxers to a 3-1 win, avenging an earlier home loss to the Missionaries. Davidson was in goal for Pacific’s signature win of the season, a 2-1 victory over Willamette that knocked the Bearcats out of title contention..

LANDMARKS: Pacific reached the 10 victory mark for only sixth time in program history in 2011 and the first time since the 2003 team went 11-8-1 under current men’s head coach Jim Brazeau. While the 11 wins remains the high water mark for the program, using the soccer formula of three points for a win and one point for a tie, the Boxers equaled the school record of 34 points accumulated by the 2003 squad and the NAIA District II champion1985 team, which went 10-4-4 in 1985. Pacific’s seven NWC victories fell one short of the school record of eight, set in 2010 (8-6-2)

BODILY BLOW: Jordan Bodily led the Boxers in scoring in 2011-12 and was a dynamic force in the midfield when healthy. Unfortunately, Bodily aggravated an ankle injury and was forced to miss four games during a crucial stretch of the schedule.

Following her finest performance of the season, a two-goal outing at Lewis & Clark on Sep. 26 that earned her Athlete Of The Week Honors, Bodily was on the sidelines for Pacific’s games against Willamette, Pacific Lutheran, Puget Sound and Linfield. The Boxers went 1-3 during that span. Despite seven-game unbeaten streak after her return to the lineup, Pacific could not make up enough ground to rejoin the race for the conference title, which featured Puget Sound, Linfield and WIllamette going into the final two weeks.

With Bodily back in the lineup, Pacific defeated Willamette 2-1 on Oct. 30 and tied Linfield 0-0 on senior day Nov. 4.

After honorable mention selections as a sophomore and junior, Bodily was a Second Team All-NWC selection and would likely have made the first team if not for the injury. Bodily led the Boxers in goals, points, shots (48) and shots on goal (31) and scored two game-winning goals. With an average of 3.00 shots per game, Bodily set a new team record.

Bodily scored 10 goals and dished out seven assists in 74 career games with 58 starts.

BRUIN TROUBLE: One player seemed to play her best soccer of the year when facing Pacific. George Fox goalkeeper Alyssa Montero proved to be a thorn in the Boxers’ side in two regular season matches.

Montero had 12 saves in the teams’ first meeting at Lincoln Park Stadium on Sep. 14, forcing the match into overtime thanks to two spectacular saves. The sophomore keeper turned away a breakaway scoring chance by deflecting Shekema McCarthy’s low strike wide of the goal in the first half. Late in the second half, Montero foiled a two-on-one break, charging out near the edge of the penalty box to lay out and absorb a Sarah Tuffey shot, maintaining a scoreless tie. Pacific finally broke through in the first minute of overtime when Kailee Green scored the game-winning goal set up by a Tuffey assist and the Boxers escaped with the narrow 1-0 victory despite a 12-3 edge in shots on goal and dominating possession advantage.

In the rematch at Newberg, Montero was impressive again, corralling 11 of her 13 saves after halftime in a 1-1 draw.

The Bruins won just two games all season, but proved to be one of the most difficult matchups of the season for the Boxers thanks to the inspired play of their goalkeeper.

SPOILER ALERT: Down the stretch of the season, the Boxers were too far behind the conference leaders to have a chance of claiming a postseason berth, but they had a dramatic impact on the playoff race.

After a 1-0 win at Pacific Lutheran, the Boxers played host to Willamette on Oct. 30. The Bearcats came into the match just a point off the lead behind Puget Sound in the NWC standings, but Pacific dominated in all phases of the game in a 2-1 victory, only their seventh win in 54 all-time meetings against the Salem school. The Boxers outshot Willamette 22-9 with an 11-3 edge in shots on goal and had eight corner kicks to two for the Bearcats. Just one minute after the Bearcats scored the equalizing goal, Pacific midfielder Bryanna DeLima headed in the game-winning goal off a Tianna Homad cross in the 54th minute. Homad also scored Pacific’s first goal in the 4th minute. The loss knocked Willamette out of the conference title hunt for all intents and purposes.

Pacific’s next opponent, Linfield, came into Lincoln Park Stadium on Nov. 4 with control of its playoff destiny, but walked off the pitch in the unenviable position of needing to root for the Boxers after the teams played to a 0-0 draw. The Boxers outshot the Wildcats 17-15 and held Linfield to just five shots on goal over 110 minutes of soccer. Brittany Hartmann had two brilliant saves among her five stops. Now needing a Pacific win over Puget Sound in the season finale to win its first-ever NWC title, Linfield’s hopes were dashed a second time as the Loggers powered past the Boxers 5-0 the following day to win their 10th consecutive conference championship.
respectable soccer careers as well.

FIT TO BE TIED: Pacific played four matches that ended in draws in 2010-11, all in NWC play. The four conference ties were the most in program history and tied for the most in conference history. Pacific’s 1985 team finished 10-4-4 overall, but only three of the ties came in conference play (6-1-3).

In a year of parity in the NWC, Pacific was not alone. Eleven NWC matches ended in ties in 2011, breaking the previous record of nine set in 2006. Pacific was one of three teams to play four draws during the conference schedule, joining Whitworth (8-4-4) and George Fox (2-10-4). Three of Pacific’s four draws came against those two teams, with the other against Linfield.

Only two other women’s soccer teams have had four draws in a conference season, with Whitman finishing 8-4-4 in 2005 and Willamette recording a 1-5-4 mark in 1985, the first year of the Northwest Conference For Independent Colleges after the NWC merged with the Women’s Conference of Independent Colleges.

SEASON SUMMARY
Overall Record: 10-6-4
NWC Record/Finish: 7-5-4, 25 pts. (5th)
Home Record: 6-2-2 Away Record: 3-4-2 Neutral Record: 1-0-0

SEASON HONORS
First Team All-Northwest Conference: Teri Shigeno (Sr., D)
Second Team All-Northwest Conference: Jordan Bodily (Sr., M), Shekema McCarthy (Sr., F)
Honorable Mention All-Northwest Conference: Bryanna DeLima (Sr., M), Brittany Hartmann (Jr., GK), Kailee Green (Fr., M)