SEASON PREVIEW: Women's Soccer opens as 4th in AMC
ST. LOUIS, MO - The Eutectics return 13 players for the 2025 season off a team last year that finished 6-9. The six wins match a program record with their only other six-win season coming when they went 6-7-1 in 2020. A 3-4 mark in the American Midwest Conference marks their best showing ever as 2020 was also their previous best in that category going 3-6.
Entering the new season, UHSP was picked fourth in the seven-team conference in the AMC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Eutectics garnered 27 points, one behind Williams Baptist and three ahead of Stephens. Columbia received 42 points to finish atop the poll landing all six first-place votes. Harris-Stowe was second, five points behind Columbia. Central Baptist and Hannibal-LaGrange rounded out the pack.
A season ago, UHSP set program records for most goals in a season with 27 and points with 66. Freshman Izzy Rogers scored a team-leading eight goals which was tied for third all-time for most goals in a single season. Rogers finished with 19 points with is also third best in UHSP history. One big change coming into this season will be who gets the start in net for the Eutectics. Goalkeeper Lauren Harding set a new program record with six wins last year, pitched three shutouts (tied for second all-time), had a 2.99 goals against average (fifth all-time) and logged the fifth-most minutes in the cage in a single season at 1083:12. Harding departed after last year leaving goalkeeping as perhaps one of the biggest unknowns entering the new season.
Head Coach Jack Jamieson enters his eighth season leading the Eutectics. He addressed the season they had last year and some of the concerns coming into the new campaign.
Q: How much did you feel like last season was a solid "building block" season of better things to come?
A: With 13 incoming freshmen and two transfer students we set out to rebuild with a purpose. We took a young group of student/athletes and set our sights on moving up the conference. We were young but had a group of eager players. We got off to a slow start with several non-conference games but seemed to bring things together at the right time when we entered the conference schedule. We managed to be more competitive throughout the season and moved into 5th place in the AMC. Last season was a positive step in the right direction, and I believe we benefitted from a year of experience together. I'm looking for a more competitive and successful 2025 season as we represent UHSP in a positive way.
Q: Offensively you sort of had a breakout season and return three of your top four scorers in Izzy Rogers, Alexa Hildebrand and Hannah Tyree. Who are some newcomers that you are expecting to be able to come in and help build on the offensive success last year?
A: These three quality players return with a competitive mind set and are key members for our success. The goal is for these three to make other players around them better. And, they have some talented new members to help us take another giant step forward. Newcomers in the likes of Lyla Stegmann, Campbell Slemmer and Kaitlyn Knoll, to mention a few, will help improve our offensive end but can also add a great deal to a transition game. And the return to play of Rachel Harris will give us additional depth and experience. There is so much potential in this team.
Q: I know it's early, but what has the cohesion and comradery looked like so far in practice?
A: It is early, but we are starting to see some chemistry from within the ranks of our players. With the talent we have it's difficult to set any one player in a set position as the players are still working to gel. There are so many moving parts and trying to find the right combinations is going to take time. This is a good problem to have as so many of our players can play in different positions and play them well. It's a work in progress.
Q: I'll have to ask you about goaltending. Lauren Harding did a tremendous job after coming on during the year to play in net including being named national player of the week once. But she departs. How confident are you that whoever you decide to go with in net can play to the level you need them to?
A: We are looking to Dani Nether to step into the goalie spot this year after Lauren's departure. I believe Dani will put in the work needed to secure that spot. Dani will do whatever she needs to do to help this team be successful. We are expecting a great deal from her and have confidence that she will secure our last line of defense. We are bringing in a volunteer goalie coach to assist with helping her and Susan Bradford to improve their skills.
Q: You're going to go into this season with maybe a larger roster than normal. Is that depth something you plan to plan into and take advantage of? How can that make you more versatile?
A: We have more depth than last season and have confidence that we will be able to use our roster size to our advantage. We will not hesitate to use our bench and feel quite comfortable bringing players into the game at any time. We have so many versatile players and we are deep which gives us options which we lacked in the past. Hoping to stay injury free and healthy the entire season.
Q: Every team has goals coming into a new season. What are some of yours?
A: We want to improve as a team in terms of wins and move up the AMC conference ladder. Our goal is to finish higher than last season and set a school record for most wins in a season. Playing as a team with confidence while representing UHSP is always a standard we want to meet. Taking the Sportsmanship and Fair Play Award would also be nice to take home. We want our players to excel on and off the field and it would be an honor for many of our players to be recognized on the All-Conference team and make the All-Conference Academic Team. Finally, what is extremely important to me is for the players to have a positive experience, enjoy playing soccer and building lasting life-long friends. Soccer is a game and when everyone looks back at their years playing at UHSP it should be with fond memories and what helped make their total college experience positive.
UHSP begins the 2025 slate on Friday, August 29 at home against Waldorf at Creve Coeur Soccer Park at 3:00p. They do not play their first road game until September 6 at Freed-Hardeman. Their AMC opener is on the road on Oct. 4 at Central Baptist.