GREENWOOD, Ind. – Hanover College has been selected to pace the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference race in women's soccer this season. The Panthers received 91 total points in a poll of the conference's ten head coaches, grabbing eight first place votes. Franklin College finished behind the Panthers with 81 points and the two first place votes.
Mount St. Joseph University placed third in the poll with 72 total points, while Transylvania University finished fourth with 71 points. Anderson University received 57 points and finished fifth, while Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (54 points), Bluffton University (40), Manchester University (36), Earlham College (25), and Defiance College (24) rounded out the poll.
Hanover College finished 2015 with an 8-1 conference record and a 15-6 mark overall, winning an outright league title. The Panthers defeated Franklin in the HCAC tournament championship to earn a NCAA tourney berth. Hanover fell in the opening round of the NCAA tournament to Capital 1-0, ending the season.
The 2016 version of the Panthers return three players that earned first-team All-HCAC honors last fall, including the HCAC Defensive MVP. Junior Abby Shroyer (Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville) has played in all 42 games of her career on the defensive end at Hanover. Senior forward Anna Cornacchione (Cincinnati, Ohio / Turpin) returns after playing in 21 games last season while producing 17 goals and eight assists for the Panthers offense. Senior Elaine Simpson (Lexington, Ky. / Tates Creek) contributed 12 goals and eight assists as a junior tallying a total of 32 points.
Franklin College finished second with an 8-1 conference record last season and finished 16-3 overall. The Grizzlies fell to Hanover in the HCAC tournament championship 2-0 in regulation. Franklin returns three first-team All-HCAC selection from last season's squad, including the HCAC Offensive MVP. Sophomore forward Maddie Fleet (Indianapolis, Ind. / Perry Meridian) led the conference in goals and total points last season. She contributed 24 goals and seven assists totaling 55 points for her freshman season with the Grizzlies. Sophomore midfielder Clare Lenart (Seymour, Ind. / Seymour) led the HCAC with 10 assists. Senior defender Audra Lane(Washington, Ind. / Washington) scored a career-high six goals and started all 19 games for the Grizzlies.
Mount St. Joseph University will look to challenge for an HCAC title in 2016. The Lions finished third in the conference race last fall with a 5-2-2 mark (10-6-3 overall), but lost to Franklin in the HCAC tournament semifinals. Mount St. Joseph will return one first-team All-HCAC selection from the 2015 team. Sophomore forward Kaylan Gruber (Harrison, Ohio / Harrison) led the team with 10 goals and six assists in 16 games last season.
The 2016 women's soccer season is scheduled to open on September 1.
Players to Watch
| Anderson | Halley Embree | Senior | Midfield | Greenwood, Ind. / Center Grove | ||||
| Kelsey Schoeneweis | Senior | Back | Moon Township, Pa. / Moon Area | |||||
| Taylor Hurley | Senior | Midfield | Maryville, Tenn. / Maryville Christian | |||||
| Chloe Hassett | Junior | Midfield | Cincinnati, Ohio / Oak Hills | |||||
| Maddie Martin | Junior | Forward | West Harrison, Ind. / East Central | |||||
| Bluffton | Abby Karikas | Senior | Back | Curtice,Ohio / Genoa Area | ||||
| Beth Snyder | Senior | Midfield | Akron, N.Y. / Akron Central | |||||
| Brittany Huff | Junior | Back | Union, Ohio / Northmont | |||||
| Defiance | Kassie Memmer | Junior | Midfield | Bowling Green, Ohio / Bowling Green | ||||
| Maizy Lepkowski | Sophomore | Midfield | Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg | |||||
| Katie Tilman | Senior | Forward | Miami, Fla. / LaSalle | |||||
| Lea McCoy | Sophomore | Forward | Akron, Ohio / Rittman | |||||
| Earlham | Kelly Mayhew | Senior | Midfield | Beavercreek, Ohio / Beavercreek | ||||
| Micaela Bush | Senior | Back | Pikeville, Ky. / Pikeville | |||||
| Cherrah Barclay | Senior | Forward | Takoma Park, Md. / Montgomery Blair | |||||
| Sari Stissi | Freshman | Goalkeeper | ----- | |||||
| Franklin | Audra Lane | Senior | Back | Washington, Ind. / Washington | ||||
| Clare Lenart | Junior | Midfield | Seymour, Ind. / Seymour | |||||
| Maddie Fleet | Sophomore | Forward | Indianapolis, Ind. / Perry Meridian | |||||
| Hanover | Anna Cornachionne | Senior | Forward | Cincinnati, Ohio / Turpin | ||||
| Abby Shroyer | Junior | Back | Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville | |||||
| Elaine Simpson | Senior | Forward | Lexington, Ky. / Tates Creek | |||||
| Katie Workman | Junior | Back | Lexington, Ky. / Tates Creek | |||||
| Cassidy Evanson | Sophomore | Midfield | Carmel, Ind. / Carmel | |||||
| Manchester | Courtney Hersick | Junior | Midfield/Forward | Plymouth, Ind. / Plymouth | ||||
| Maranda Birmingham | Sophomore | Forward | Kouts, Ind. / Kouts | |||||
| Isabella Zoog | Sophomore | Back | Brownsburg, Ind. / Brownsburg | |||||
| MSJ | Taylor Clark | Junior | Midfield | Hamilton, Ohio / Ross |
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| Kaylan Gruber | Sophomore | Forward | Harrison, Ohio / Harrison |
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| Michelle Hessling | Junior | Goalkeeper | Hamilton, Ohio / Hamilton Badin | |||||
| Rose-Hulman | Eliska Saiz | Junior | Forward | Albuquerque, N.M. / Albuquerque Academy | ||||
| Samantha Jacobs | Sophomore | Back | Orland Park, Ill. / Carl Sandburg | |||||
| Miranda Chastain | Senior | Midfield | Clayton, Ind. / Cascade | |||||
| Transylvania | Noel Obata | Sophomore | Midfield/Forward | Lebanon, Ky. / Marion County | ||||
| Megan Wall | Junior | Back | Knoxville, Tenn. / West | |||||
| Charlotte Pruet | Senior | Midfield/Forward | Louisville, Ky. / Eastern | |||||
| Erin Koch | Senior | Midfield | Pee Wee Valley, Ky. / South Oldham |