2009 Women's Soccer Season Review
ASHLEY
KANDA LEADS FOUR ALL-NWC SELECTIONS: After saving some of her
best soccer for the final part of her career, Ashley Kanda scored and passed
her way to selection to the All-Northwest Conference Women’s Soccer Second
Team. Kanda led four Pacific selections to the squad, the most for the
Boxers since 1994.
“For the past two years, Ashley continually battled an ankle injury that would hinder her ability to play to her full potential. This year was different,” Pacific Head Coach Joy Boswell said. “Her previous injury was no longer a factor and it showed in her game as an offensive threat with the support of her team.”
Kanda came on late for the Boxers, helping provide a potent one-two scoring punch up front. She finished the season with five goals and four assists. Her hat trick in Pacific’s 3-3 tie with Pacific Lutheran on Nov. 1 was the 12th three-goal performance in school history and tied a school record for goals in a match. She also scored the game-winning goal in overtime in Pacific’s 2-1 season-ending victory over Willamette.
In addition, Ashley Kanda had two assists in the Boxers’ 3-2 non-conference win over Northwest Christian on Sept. 12 and assisted on game-winning goals on two different occasions.
THREE
EARN HONORABLE MENTION NODS: In addition to Ashley Kanda’s second
team selection, three other Boxers were named as honorable mentions to
the All-NWC Team. Lauren Kanda earned her second straight honorable mention
selection, while midfielders Jordan Bodily and Bryanna DeLima earned their
first selections.
Lauren Kanda provided the other side of a one-two punch up front with her twin sister, Ashley. Lauren Kanda led the Boxers with six goals and five assists and finished ranked seventh in the NWC in assists and ninth in points per game (0.85) and goals. She scored two goals, including the game-winner, against George Fox on Oct. 14 and also netted game-winners against Northwest Christian on Sept. 12 and Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 3.
Bodily and DeLima, meanwhile, each played critical roles as defensive midfielders for the Boxers. Bodily started all 20 matches for the Boxers in both the midfield and defense. Her one goal of the season was the game-winner against Whitman on Sept. 20. DeLima also started all 20 matches and led the Boxers with 1,820 minutes played.
SMALL
STEPS TOWARD THE GOAL: The 2009 season marked another small, yet
significant step for the Boxers as they aimed to be a much more competitive
program within one of the top small college soccer conferences in the nation.
Pacific finished the year with a 7-10-3 overall record, compiling their
most victories since 2005. The Boxers’ 6-8-2 Northwest Conference record
and sixth place finish was the team’s best since 2003.
The Boxers’ biggest successes came early in the season. After going 0-2-1 on a grueling season-opening road trip that the Boxers from Forest Grove to Klamath Falls to Olympia, Wash., in a span of five days, Pacific responded by winning four of their next six matches. The Boxers opened NWC play with a 2-1 home victory over George Fox on Sept. 16. Four days later, a single goal by Jordan Bodily gave Pacific a 1-0 shutout victory at Whitman, their first over the Missionaries since 2004 and their first win on the league’s eastern Washington road trip in seven years. The run ended at home with a resounding 3-0 shutout over Pacific Lutheran.
The
road became much more challenging over the final two-thirds of the conference
season with the Boxers winning just three matches and dropping three matches
by a one-goal differential. Pacific finished the season by winning or tying
two of their final three matches. The Boxers used a hat trick by Ashley
Kanda to secure a 3-3 tie at Pacific Lutheran on Nov. 1 and single goals
by both Kanda sisters to win a 2-1 overtime season finale at home against
Willamette on Nov. 7.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: While scoring was a difficulty for the Boxers over the last two seasons, Pacific started to find their way when it came creating and converting on opportunities. Pacific set a single record with 322 shots, well surpassing the old mark of 253 set in 1999. The Boxers also registered 16.1 shots per match, finishing second in the NWC while surpassing the school former record of 13.35 set in 2001. Pacific outshot their opponents 322-292 after having registered just 216 shots the year before.
While the Boxers’ number of goals was well off of record pace, it was a dramatic improvement over the year before. Pacific netted 24 goals, well above the 14 goals scored by the 2008 squad and the most for Pacific since the 2005 season. Pacific finished tied for fifth in the NWC this season with 24 goals.
GOING EXTRA TIME: Pacific found themselves play more overtime matches than in any other season in school history. The Boxers went extra time in five matches, going 1-1-3 in those matches. All but one of the ties came on the road in matches at Evergreen State on Sept. 6, Lewis & Clark on Oct. 4 and Pacific Lutheran on Nov. 1. The team’s one overtime victory came in the season finale, a 2-1 decision over Willamette.
HATS OFF TO ASHLEY KANDA: Pacific needed some scoring to secure their 3-3 tie with Pacific Lutheran on Nov. 1 and Ashley Kanda did it in the most dramatic of fashions. Kanda scored the 12th hat trick in school history against the Lutes, bringing Pacific back from a one-goal deficit each time in the deadlock. It was the second hat trick scored by a Pacific player in as many seasons. Teammate jenny Novak scored the Boxers’ last hat trick, tallying three goals against George Fox on Oct. 22, 2008. The effort also tied Kanda for the Pacific single match record for goals. Debbie McInally scored the first hat trick in school history, tallying three goals against Lewis & Clark in 1988.
Ashley and her twin sister, Lauren, ended up accounting for all of the Boxers’ scoring in the team’s final three matches. Ashley Kanda had four of those goals while Lauren Kanda scored a single goal in the season finale against Willamette.
ALL CONDITIONS SOCCER: Pacific’s season finale match against Willamette on Nov. 7 will be remembered as one of the ages, but not because of the final score or the play by either side. It will be remembered for the weather conditions in which the two sides persevered to get the match in. The Boxers and Bearcats played the first 45 minutes in driving rain and winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour, making conditions cold and the ball very wet.
Things became even stranger when the teams endured a 50-minute delay at the end of overtime because of lightning in the area. It was the first time in school history that a soccer match had been delayed due to weather conditions. The two teams made the most of it, throwing their jerseys in the University’s laundry facilities to start the second half with warm, dry equipment.
In the end, the delay and conditions proved to work out in the Boxers’ favor. Lauren Kanda scored in the 81st minute to force overtime and sister Ashley Kanda 73 seconds into the extra period to close out the season with a 2-1 victory. The men’s soccer team didn’t escape the weather as their season finale against George Fox was moved from Newberg to Lincoln Park Stadium due to dangerous field conditions. The men’s match started just a half hour after the conclusion of the women’s match.
NIGHT LINE: Pacific had found in 2009 that the nights are a great time to play soccer. The Boxers won both of their night matches this season (defined by the NCAA as matches that start after 6 p.m.). Both wins came at Lincoln Park Stadium, where the home team now owns a 3-1-0 record under the lights after victories over Northwest Christian on Sept. 12 and George Fox on Sept. 16. Since 2005, Pacific is 3-4-0 in night contests. A third schedule night contest, against Oregon Tech on Sept. 5, was moved to 5 p.m. in order to accomodate the Boxers’ travel schedule.
ANOTHER
NEW KEEPER: For the third time in as many seasons, Pacific found
themselves breaking in another goalkeeper. Thankfully for the Boxers, the
third time appears to be the charm. Brittany Hartmann started all but two
matches for the Boxers in the crease and gave the team a sense of ability
and stability in goal. Hartmann finished the season with 122 saves, second
most in the NWC. Hartmann finished leading the conference with 5.79 saves
per match and was ranked third with her .803 save percentage. Hartmann
and back-up goalie Kelcy Gillen combined for 122 saves, which led the NWC
team statistics.
BOSWELL STEPS DOWN: After four years as Pacific’s women’s soccer coach, Joy Boswell announced Dec. 1 that she was stepping down to pursue other professional opportunities. Boswell compiled a 20-52-6 record in her tenure and saw the 2009 team earn the Boxers’ best Northwest Conference finish since 2003. A protégé of the late Clive Charles, Boswell played her collegiate soccer at the University of Portland, where she graduated in 1995. She later earned a second bachelor’s degree from Pacific in 1998.
Season Summary
Overall Record: 7-10-3
NWC Record/Finish: 6-8-2, 20 pts. (6th)
Home Record: 5-5-0 Away Record: 2-5-3
SEASON HONORS
Second Team All-Northwest Conference: Ashley Kanda (F)
Honorable Mention All-Northwest Conference: Lauren Kanda (M), Jordan Bodily (M), Bryanna DeLima (M)