Women's Soccer

2009 Season Review

The 2009 Lady Saints finished the season 5-10-0 and showed strong improvement over the 2008 season that saw the team finish 2-13-0.  Heading into the 2009 season, Head Coach Stephen Conger felt that the 09 squad would be stronger over his first team and the Lady Saints improved on many areas.

The 2009 team featured six sophomores including top goal scorer Miranda Typhair (Edwards, NY/Edwards-Knox).  Typhair led the 2008 team in scoring with 6 goals in 8 games and this year she lead the team again in goals scored with 13 goals in 13 games.  Typhair also chipped in 3 assists to finish second on the team in overall scoring with 29 points.  Sophomore Ashley Ehrenborg (Middletown, NY/Minisink HS) anchored the defense and also finished fourth on the team in scoring with 4 goals and 2 assists to total 10 points on the season.  Ehrenborg played in all 15 games in 2008 and added 1 goal and 2 assists and for her career she finishes with 5 goals and 4 assists in 28 games playing almost exclusively on defense.  Bonnie Tipping, another sophomore started every game in 2008 and this year she started in all 11 games she played scoring 2 goals and 1 assist.  Last year Tipping scored 1 goal to bring her two year total to 3 goals and 1 assist while playing defense.  Cassie Barden (Saranac Lake, NY/Saranac Lake) started all 30 games for the Lady Saints the past two years and was a team leader by example.  Barden chipped in 1 goal for the 2008 season while playing almost every position on the field except keeper her last two years.  Shauncey Hamlin (Burlington, VT/Burlington) and Johanna Evans-Welpe (Potsdam, NY/Potsdam) round out the sophomore group with Hamlin playing in all 30 games the past two years and adding 1 assist while playing mostly as a midfielder and forward.  Evans-Welpe battled injuries through her two years but when healthy, she started in net. 

Leading the way for freshmen was forward Stephanie Cox (Colton, NY/Parishville-Hopkinton) who lead the team in scoring with 11 goals and 11 assists for 33 points and Cox earned a selection to the Mountain Valley Conference Team and was also selected as a 2nd Team All Region III player.  Sheena Sequin (Lisbon, NY/Lisbon) also helped in scoring finishing the season with 4 goals and 3 assists for 11 points and being 3rd overall on the team in scoring.  Amanda Holland (Tupper Lake, NY/Tupper Lake), Ashley Sherman (Willsboro, NY/Willsboro), Ashley Carson (Willsboro, NY/Willsboro), and Emily Watson (Colton, NY/Colton-Pierrepont) were all starters for the 2009 Lady Saints as freshmen and did a lot to contribute to the improvement the Lady Saints saw from the 2008 season.  Allie Charron (Burlington, VT/Burlington) and Isatou Kujabi (Bronx, NY/Harry Truman) battled injuries all season long but still helped provide the team with depth with both players starting several games this season. 

In goal the Lady Saints were lead by Freshmen Courtney Taylor (Brushton, NY/Brushton-Moira) and Kristen Foote (Norwood, NY/Norwood-Norfolk) who both saw action in net.  With injuries to all three keepers, everyone got a chance to play this year in net and Taylor and Foote proved they were ready to play.  Taylor finished the season ranked 10th in Region in keeper statistics with Foote possibly ranking 8th but needing one more game to qualify. 

"In looking back, this is possibly the strongest season the women's program has had since 2002.  To me it seems like we are one more season away from making the playoffs and getting back to the success this program had in 2001 and 2002 when the team made the Regional Tournament."  Coach Conger said.  He also added that "this year we were a little inconsistent from game to game but overall I'm pleased with how we played as a team. We have talent and I know the freshman learned a few key lessons the hard way which I hope makes them hungry for the 2010 season."  With 9 players expected to return Coach Conger feels that the 2010 team is in a better position to excel next year than they were this year.  "This year we returned 6 sophomores who worked hard all spring to get better and it showed all season long.  The girls coming back next year are already excited about spring practice and with 9 players coming back, it will make us that much better." Conger added.  Now it is all about recruiting as Coach Conger and Assistant Coach Wendy Peroza have been out recruiting a lot this year to get more and better players to compliment this year's freshman class.  "Our focus now is to bring in around 15 players to give us depth and a little better skill level.  We had 18 on the roster this year but we did get hit with injuries.  Having a roster of 25 makes everyone better and certainly helps to alleviate problems with injuries." Coach Conger commented.  Although it is early in the process, both Conger and Peroza feel that recruiting has gone well and they both look forward to next August when the team opens preseason with new and higher expectations.

The Saints Women's Soccer program was founded in 1980 by Bill Borzilleri, then Athletic Director, with the team competing at the club level. In 1981, North Country proudly became the first in the region to pioneer women's junior college soccer at the varsity level. Through the years, the team has been ranked as high as 5th in the nation. The team has honored well over 75 student-athletes on All-Region teams, NJCAA Academic All-Americans, and NJCAA All-Americans.

This 28 year-old soccer program is a member of National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division 3, Region III, which is one of the largest and historically the most competitive athletic regions in the country. In 2008, the program also became a member of the Mountain Valley Collegiate Conference.

For questions about the North Country Women’s Soccer Program, please contact Head Coach Stephen Conger at (518) 891-2915, ext. 216, or sconger@nccc.edu.