Nick Hartley
The 2007 Jackrabbit soccer season has been over for almost a week. The team completed its first season in the Summit League, finishing with a record of 9-4-4, 6-2-2 in the Summit League. Coming into the season picked to finish seventh, the Jackrabbits found their way to a tie for second place at the end of the season.
The season featured several big wins against preseason conference favorite Oakland 3-0 Sept. 7 at home, NDSU 2-1 in double overtime on Oct. 18 and a 7-1 thumping of Utah Valley State on Oct. 14. The Jacks found consistency this year and the defensive presence they have been looking for in the past.
“The girls were much more consistent game in and game out,” coach Lang Wedemeyer said, “and I felt like we were competitive in every game. We had the capability to win every game we were in.”
Nicole Lograsso was outstanding in goals this year, having an amazing 0.61 goals a game. Without a doubt, Lograsso is perhaps the team MVP this year for keeping the team in so many close games.
Kellyn Farrell had an interesting year that featured a concussion at the midpoint of the season and two game winning goals. The junior from Littleton, Colo., led the Jackrabbit offense with five goals and six assists. Her contributions on the pitch led to the perfect honor of offensive player of the year.
Jessica Heine stepped it up big on defense this year. Playing beside Kelly Larson only made her that much more dangerous. While Larson gets all the conference honors, Heine works quietly making tackles and big stops when needed. The Sioux Falls native also netted two goals. Her efforts earned her defensive player of the year.
The freshmen class this year was a big one, 12 freshmen in all. Tory Schiltgen, Kaitlin Justice and Dannielle Healy all emerged as threats on both sides of the ball. Schiltgen finished with three goals and four assists. Justice chipped in five goals, three of those game winners, and an assist. Healy had a quiet first half of the year, but came on strong the second half. Her three goals and three assists came at opportune moments and made the team well rounded. Together these three earn the rookie of the year as a group.
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