Illinois Wesleyan 2006 Women's Soccer Stories

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 Illinois Wesleyan 2006 Preseason Information (pdf)

November 15
Senior Lyndsay O'Brien and sophomore Tina Rodriguez were chosen to the first team of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin women's soccer all-league squads. Sophomore Caroline Leighton and senior Ashley Goergen were chosen to the second team. O'Brien is a four-time all-CCIW selection, earning second team honors as a freshman and sophomore and first team last year. She scored two goals and had an assist against CCIW opponents this fall. Rodriguez and Goergen were defenders on a team that allowed only 0.40 goals per game. Goergen was a first team all-league player last year. Leighton, a second team all-CCIW player as a freshman, finished second in the CCIW in points (14), points per game (2.0) and was third in goals (six). She led the conference in game-winning goals (three). The Titans finished with a 10-5-4 overall record and were 4-1-2 in the CCIW.

November 1
The Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team rallied from a two-goal deficit to earn a 3-3 double overtime tie at Augustana on Wed., Nov. 1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin semifinals, but were eliminated from the tourney as Augustana claimed a 7-6 win in the shootout to determine who advances. The Titans (whose season ends with a 10-5-4 record) got two goals from Caroline Leighton and another from senior Amy Slott. Slott scored in the 75th minute and Leighton's second goal came in the 88th minute to tie the game, 3-3. IWU outshot the Vikings, 12-5, in the second half.

October 29
Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage battled to a 2-2 two-overtime tie in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin women's soccer match on Sun., Oct. 29 in Kenosha, Wis. The Titans (10-5-3, 4-1-2 CCIW) earn the No. 3 seed in the CCIW tournament and will play a semifinal game at No. 2 Augustana (14-1-2, 5-0-2 CCIW) on Wed., Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. Against Carthage, IWU jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead on goals by senior Lyndsay O'Brien at 2:15 and freshman Beth Talentowski at 13:26, but the Lady Reds (12-4-2, 4-1-2 CCIW) tallied two  goals in the final 20 minutes to force the draw.

October 25
The Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team played Augustana to a 0-0 draw after two overtimes at IWU's Neis Field on Wed., Oct. 25. The Titans (now 10-5-2, 4-1-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) had 14 shots compared to 11 for Augustana (13-1-2, 5-0-2 CCIW) and senior Emily Castner had seven saves in registering her ninth shutout of the year. The Titans play at Carthage on Sat., Oct. 29 at 2 p.m.

October 21
The Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team lost a 1-0 match at Wheaton on a rainy night on Sat., Oct. 21. IWU had seven shots with four shots on goal while the Thunder (14-2, 5-1 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) had 19 shots with 10 on goal. Keeper Emily Castner had eight saves for the Titans, who are now 10-5-1 overall and 4-1 in the CCIW. IWU hosts Augustana on "Seniors' Night" on Wed., Oct. 25 at Neis Field.

October 18
Freshman Beth Talentowski scored two goals and assisted on the other as the Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team downed North Central, 3-0, in Naperville on Wed., Oct. 18. The Titans are 4-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and 10-4-1 overall. Lyndsay O'Brien scored the first goal of the game in the 17th minute on a Talentowski assist, then Talentowski scored her first goal just one minute later. Her second goal came in the second half. Emily Castner recorded her eighth shutout of the season. IWU plays next at Wheaton on Sat., Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.

October 14
Improving their overall record to 8-4-1 and their College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin record to 3-0, the Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team defeated Millikin, 1-0, at Neis Field on Fri., Oct. 13. The Titans' lone goal came from Caroline Leighton off an assist from Lyndsay O'Brien. IWU outshot the Big Blue, 17-1, as senior keeper Emily Castner registered her seventh shutout of the season.

October 11
The Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team downed Principia, 3-1, in a nonconference game on Wed., Oct. 11 at IWU's Neis Field. Lyndsay O'Brien opened the scoring in the 11th minute on an assist from Elizabeth Sinclair, then Sinclair scored her own goal on an assist from Caroline Leighton in the 33rd minute. A goal with less than two minutes to play by Amy Slott on an assist from Erin Kugler closed the Titan scoring. IWU keeper Emily Castner made three saves. The Titans will host Millikin in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin match on Friday the 13th at 7 p.m.

October 7
The Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team lost a 1-0 match to the College of St. Benedict on Homecoming (Sat., Oct. 7) at Neis Field. The game's only goal came in the 68th minute when Alison Tourville scored on an assist from Kristen Perry. IWU had eight shots compared to only two for St. Benedict. Illinois Wesleyan hosts nonconference Principia at 7 p.m. on Wed., Oct. 11.

October 4
Sophomore Caroline Leighton added three goals and one assist as the Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team defeated Elmhurst 4-0.  The Titans improve to 2-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play.  Elizabeth Sinclair had an assist to Leighton for the first goal of the game in the 9th minute.  After two unassisted goals by Leighton in the 39th and 64th minute, Erin Murray scored on an assist by Leighton.  The Titans outshot Elmhurst 17-3.  IWU improves their overall record to 6-3.  Illinois Wesleyan hosts the College of St. Benedictine on Homecoming (Sat., October 7th) at 4 p.m. at Neis Field.

September 29
Sophomore Caroline Leighton scored a goal in each half to propel the Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team to a 2-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin win over North Park on Fri., Sept. 29 at IWU's Neis Field. The Titans extended their unbeaten streak to four games and improved to 6-3-1 while the Vikings fell to 2-6-2. Leighton scored an unassisted goal in the 31st minute and scored in the 84th minute on an assist from Erin Kugler. IWU outshot the Vikings, 24-2, and Titan keeper Emily Castner made two saves.

September 24
The Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team scored four first half goals and Emily Castner became the all-time shutout leader at the school as the Titans downed St. Mary's, 4-0, on Sun., Sept. 24 in Notre Dame, Ind. Castner has 23 career shutouts, including four this season, to top the old mark of 22 by Alicia Heeger (2000-02). Eileen Ouska had two goals on assists from Elizabeth Sinclair, while Lyndsay O'Brien and Carly Calkins each added goals in the win that improves the IWU record to 5-3.

September 21
Elizabeth Sinclair scored the game's only goal at the 62:22 mark as the Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team topped Loras, 1-0, on Wed., Sept. 20 in Dubuque, Iowa. The Titans improved to 4-3 as they outshot the Duhawks, 15-12, in the game including seven shots on goal. IWU plays next at St. Mary's (Ind.) at 2 p.m. on Sun., Sept. 24.

September 16
The No. 24-ranked Illinois Wesleyan women’s soccer team (now 3-3) was shut out by the No. 16-ranked University of Chicago, 1-0, in action on Sat., Sept. 16. The Titans were outshot, 9-8, and senior keeper Emily Castner made four saves. The Maroons’ Olivia Ndyabagye scored the game’s only tally on a corner kick from Amanda Catalano. IWU next plays at Loras on Wed., Sept. 20.

September 13
The No. 24-ranked Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team got two goals each from Lyndsay O'Brien and Eileen Ouska and one from Caroline Leighton in a 5-0 win over nonconference Lake Forest on Wed., Sept. 13 at IWU's Neis Field. Freshman Beth Talentowski had two assists while Emily Marcheschi and Carly Calkins assisted on Ouska's second half goals. The Titans outshot the Foresters by an astounding 33-4 margin with 20 shots on goal. Emily Castner made two saves as the keeper for IWU, who plays at the University of Chicago on Sat., Sept. 16.

September 12
The Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team is ranked No. 24 in the latest Division III poll conducted by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The Titans are 2-2 overall and host Lake Forest at 7 p.m. on Wed., Sept. 13 at Neis Field. IWU is tied with Wheaton for No. 4 in the Central region poll behind, in order, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Macalester, and the University of Chicago (who the Titans play on Sat., Sept. 16).

September 11
Illinois Wesleyan’s Elizabeth Sinclair  scored the only goal of the game as the Titans downed No. 21-ranked Washington University, 1-0, in overtime at IWU’s Neis Field on Sun., Sept. 10. Sinclair scored midway through the first overtime (95:44) off of a corner kick. After the Bears failed to clear the corner kick out of the box, Sinclair corralled it and beat WU goalkeeper Carrie Sear for the game-winner. The Bears had a 14-9 advantage in shots, including a 6-2 advantage in the second half. Emily Castner made two saves in goal for Illinois Wesleyan, who improved to 2-2 overall. Washington U. has now played three consecutive overtime games, and has also been involved in four consecutive one-goal contests.

September 9
The Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team was defeated, 2-1, by Wisconsin-Eau Claire (ranked No. 30 in the latest d3kicks.com poll) at Neis Field on Sat., Sept. 9. The Titans' Ashley Goergen scored the team's lone goal on a penalty kick in the 86th minute. UW-EC outshot IWU, 13-6, and Titan keeper Emily Castner made six saves. The Titans (1-2) host No. 26-ranked Washington U. at 4 p.m. on Sun., Sept. 10.

September 7
Illinois Wesleyan senior Lyndsay O'Brien has been named "Player of the Week" for women's soccer in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin for the week ending Sept. 3. O’Brien had a goal and an assist in helping IWU to a 1-1 start against ranked competition last weekend. O’Brien assisted on a goal in a 2-1 win over Hope and the assist made her IWU's sole career assist leader. On Sept. 2, she had IWU’s only goal in a 2-1 loss to preseason No. 31 Calvin. The Titans host No. 12 Wis.-Eau Claire on Sat., Sept. 9, then hosts No. 21 Washington U. on Sun., Sept. 10.

September 2
The Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team allowed two goals in the first four minutes of the second half and lost to Calvin, 2-1, in the title game of the 4th Titan Soccer Classic on Sat., Sept. 2. Lyndsay O'Brien score the lone unassisted IWU goal in the 34th minute as the Titans outshot Calvin, 10-7, with four shots on goal. Keeper Emily Castner made four saves.

September 1
Sophomore Caroline Leighton scored an unassisted goal at 69:14 to provide the winning margin for the Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer team over Hope on Fri., Sept. 1 at IWU's Neis Field. Beth Talentowski scored a first half goal for the Titans in the 25th minute assisted by Lyndsay O'Brien, who became the all-time assist leader at the school. Goalkeeper Emily Castner had three saves for IWU, who hosts Calvin at 7:30 p.m. on Sat., Sept. 2 in the Titan Soccer Classic title game. Calvin downed Elmhurst, 4-1, on Friday.

August 2
The Illinois Wesleyan University women’s soccer team has been chosen No. 2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin preseason coaches’ poll. The Titans earned 41 points and one first place vote and trail only defending champion Wheaton (49 points, seven first place votes). Augustana (38 points), Carthage (31), and Elmhurst (26) round out the top five in the coaches’ poll. Senior Ashley Goergen was the team’s “Most Valuable Player” in 2005 as the Titans were 13-7-1 and became the first IWU soccer team to be selected to play in the NCAA Division III postseason tournament.

June 2006
The Illinois Wesleyan University women’s soccer team has five straight home matches to open its 2006 season, beginning on Fri., Sept. 1 with a 7:30 p.m. contest against Hope. IWU hosts Calvin (Sept. 2), UW-Eau Claire (Sept. 9), Washington U. (Sept. 10), and Lake Forest (Sept. 13) before their first road game. The Titans, coached by Dave Barrett, have two August exhibitions to prepare, beginning with the Barrington FC X on Sun. Aug. 20 at 4 p.m. at Neis Field and then on Sat., Aug. 26 at DePauw at 1 p.m. In 2005 the Titans were 13-7-1 and became the first IWU soccer team to be selected to play in the NCAA Division III postseason tournament.