Rockhurst Women’s Soccer Notes—Sept. 6, 2012

Rockhurst opens the Great Lakes Valley Conference season Friday against Saint Joseph’s in Rensselaer, Ind. The Hawks (1-0) have won the last four meetings with SJC and lead the all-time series by a 6-2 margin. Rockhurst shut out the Pumas, 6-0, last year in Kansas City. Saint Joe’s opened the season with a 1-0 loss to Tiffin and a 1-0 win over Findlay.

IMPRESSIVE START: The Hawks opened the 2012 season with a 4-1 victory over 20th-ranked Lynn (Fla.) in St. Louis. Rockhurst jumped out to a 2-1 halftime lead behind goals from freshman Jessica Cook and sophomore Caroline Brandt. Freshman Brandi Van Booven and sophomore Taylor Skala added goals in the second half. The Hawks outshot Lynn, 17-8. Sophomore midfielder Ally Rodriguez and Skala led the Hawks with three shots each. Senior goalkeeper Lucy Sullivan posted three saves.

REGIONAL RANKINGS: Rockhurst is ranked fifth in this week’s NSCAA Division II Midwest Regional rankings. 2011 national runner-up Grand Valley State leads the Midwest Region poll, followed by GLVC members Bellarmine, Quincy and Drury. The GLVC has eight of the top 10 teams in the region.

COACH GREG HERDLICK: Rockhurst head coach Greg Herdlick enters his 14th season at Rockhurst as one of the winningest coaches in the GLVC. He currently ranks third in career victories (129) and fourth in winning percentage (.585) among active GLVC women’s coaches. Herdlick stands 39th in wins and 52nd in winning percentage among active NCAA Division II women’s coaches.

PRE-SEASON POLL: The Hawks have been picked to finish fourth in the GLVC preseason poll of league coaches. Herdlick returns nine starters from a team that finished 12-5-2 overall and placed fifth in the GLVC with a 10-3-2 record. Rockhurst qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history. Bellarmine, which won the 2011 GLVC Championship, finished on top of the GLVC poll.

ROUND ROBIN SCHEDULE: The 16 GLVC women’s soccer teams will compete in a 15-game round robin schedule during the regular season with the top eight teams earning a berth to the GLVC Championship Tournament. The top four seeds will host quarterfinal matches on campus on Oct. 28 
with the four remaining teams heading to the top remaining seed site for the semifinals and final on 
Nov. 2 and 4.