Nov. 11, 2004

Charleston, SC - The Citadel soccer team finished up the 2004 season with a 2-15-1 (0-10-1 SoCon) record. This year marked a 2-2 draw with Southern Conference rival East Tennessee State. The tie was the Bulldogs' best showing against a Southern Conference opponent since its 2001 inaugural season.

"We started the season out really well," said head soccer coach Megan Hjerling. "Then we got to the middle of the year and lost two key players for a few games. Defender Megan McAuliffe sat out the last third of the season with an injury and Miriam Crawford missed games battling injuries of her own."

The Bulldogs' two wins came back to back against South Carolina State (8-1) and VMI (3-2) in late September. That same weekend, the Bulldogs fought to a double overtime draw with East Tennessee State, 2-2. "We had a huge weekend when we played VMI and ETSU back to back," commented Hjerling. "Then we went on to play Furman and Chattanooga, both of which are two big guns in the Southern Conference. Playing Furman on the road and them coming home to play Chattanooga, kind of hurt our morale."

The junior class really stepped up this year as forward Lauren Merchant was the top scorer with eight goals and three assists tallying 19 points. Two of her eight scores were game winners. Merchant was also the first women's soccer player at The Citadel to be named the Southern Conference Player of the Week after recording a hat trick against S.C. State. Forward Miriam Crawford racked up six points to be the next top scorer with three goals. Defender Julie Austin rounded out the top four with two goals, one assist, five points, nine shots on goal and a .562 shot on goal percentage.

Freshman Maggie Bryan also had a standout year as she started all 18 games for the Bulldogs and solidified her place on the squad being the third top scorer with two goals, one assist, five points, 12 shots on goal and a .600 shot on goal percentage.

Goalkeepers junior Angie Ellenwood (9903:01) and freshman Brit Bunnell (725:44) shared time defending the Bulldog goal. As the leader, Ellenwood tallied 74 saves with a .592 save percentage and was credited with both of The Citadel wins this season. Bunnell also had a solid performance as she ended with 65 saves and a .637 save percentage. Combined, the two goalies averaged a .615 save percentage.

Three seniors also played their final season with The Citadel soccer team. Shawna Hartman, Debbie White and Kara Keiter were the last remaining players from the 2001 inaugural squad. Hartman netted two goals tallying up four points on the year while attempting 10 shots on goal with a .556 shot on goal percentage. White also found the back of the net with a .500 shot on goal percentage, and Keiter tallied an assist on the season finishing up with a .333 shot on goal percentage.

"As a whole, the team played well," stated Hjerling. "We played hard for 45 minutes but we needed to play for 90. Our program is still very young and that is what hurt us at the end of the day, but our team will continue to build and mature."