2007 Elizabethtown College
Women's Soccer Preview 

The Elizabethtown College women’s soccer team enters the 2007 season with a great deal of anticipation after a successful 2006 season that saw the Blue Jays win their first Commonwealth Conference title since 1999 and advance to the third round of the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time since 1997.

After defeating top-seeded Messiah College 1-0 in the conference finals, the Blue Jays picked up a pair of overtime wins over Richard Stockton College (3-2) and Montclair State University (1-0) in the opening rounds of the NCAA playoffs before falling to Virginia Wesleyan University 1-0 in the third round.

Head coach Barry Dohner, the Commonwealth Conference Coach of the Year in each of the last two seasons and last year’s Middle Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, begins his 14 th season with 172 career victories and a squad that includes seven returning starters from last year’s team.

Four first-team All-Commonwealth Conference selections return to the lineup for Elizabethtown this fall, led by junior forward Brooke Dotterer (Spring City, PA/Owen J. Roberts), a two-time first-team All-Conference pick who fired home 15 goals and dished out eight assists for 38 points to rank second in the conference in points and third in goals. Dotterer was also named third-team All-Middle Atlantic Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

Junior forward Jenna Russo (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) also claimed first-team All-Conference honors and was a second-team All-Region selection as she added nine goals and five assists for 23 points.

In the midfield, senior Jenny Fromuth (Wyomissing, PA/Wyomissing) tacked on six goals and a pair of assists to join Dotterer and Russo on the All-Conference first team.

The defense is led by senior Emily Gunter (Hockessin, DE/A.I. DuPont), who was a first-team All-Conference choice after helping the Blue Jays yield just 18 goals in 22 games while recording 11 shutouts. Joining Gunter as returning starters on the defense are senior Jamie Alvanitakis (Landenberg, PA/Avon Grove), junior Carly Hoskins (Bangor, PA/Bangor) and junior Gretchen Geiger (Pilesgrove, NJ/Woodstown).

Junior Angela Freeland (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) is slated to start in goal after compiling a 3-3-1 record and a 0.97 goals against average in seven starts last season behind regular starter Dawn Mellen, who finished 11-2-2 with a 0.71 goals against average and eight shutouts in 15 starts.

A strong contingent of first-year students is led by midfielders Elyse Carabello (Reading, PA/Exeter Twp.) and Kelly Fisher (Harrisburg, PA/Bishop McDevitt) along with defenderLisa Nyman (South Glastonbury, CT/Kingswood-Oxford School). Goalkeepers Lindsey Butler (Salem, NJ/Woodstown) and Kristen Kelly (Bensalem, PA/Villa Joseph Marie) will also see playing time.

Elizabethtown opens its 2007 season at home against Roger Williams University on Saturday, Sept. 1 at 4:00 p.m. as part of the Blue Jay Classic. With the departure of Juniata College, Moravian College and Susquehanna University and the addition of Lycoming College to the Commonwealth Conference membership, Elizabethtown will play a five-game conference schedule which begins on Saturday, Oct. 13 at Lebanon Valley College.