Scots Open 2006 Season With Back-to-Back Home Matches

For The Week Of:
August 28, 2006

Written by Hugh Howard
330-263-2374
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Anne Leigh

The College of Wooster field hockey team will officially kickoff its 2006 season this Saturday, Sept. 2 at 11 a.m., when it entertains visiting University of the South (8-9 in 2005) at Cindy Barr Memorial Field. The Fighting Scots and the Tigers have met seven times in the past, most recently in 2004 (a 3-2 overtime win for Wooster), and the Scots hold a 4-2-1 advantage in the series. Also on the slate for Wooster this weekend is another home match-up, this one against Centre College (11-8 in 2005) on Sunday, Sept. 3 at 11 a.m. The Scots were a perfect 8-0 versus the Colonels prior to last year’s 2-1 overtime victory for Centre.

2006 Preview Notes: Wooster is coming off its seventh-straight winning season (11-9) and a tie for second-place in the North Coast Athletic Conference (8-4). The Scots have finished either first or second in the NCAC in each of the last five years ... Wooster lost four of its top-five scorers from 2005, but returns a five-member senior class – Anlyn Addis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Pioneer), Katy Baron (River Forest, Ill. / Oak Park & River Forest), Gina Crough (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon), Miranda Leickly (Gahanna, Ohio / Columbus Academy), and Anne Leigh (Englewood, Colo. / Cherry Creek), each of whom will play an integral role ... Offensively, the Scots will be led by Addis, who has registered 64 career points (26 goals, 12 assists), including an average of 1.26 points per game last fall, while Baron has 34 career points (11 goals, 12 assists) to her credit. Crough possesses the potential for a breakout season after suffering through injuries. Wooster will also look to sophomore Alex Cotter (Summit, N.J. / Summit) to add a scoring punch after she contributed four points (one goal, two assists) in 16 appearances … The midfield could have a new look, albeit with familiar players. Leickly has been one of the league’s top backs throughout her career, picking up first-team all-conference accolades in 2005, but may move up to anchor the midfielders, while junior Kate Persing (Canton, Conn. / Kimball Union Academy – N.H.), who started as a freshman in 2004, returns after missing nearly all of last season with an injury. Also, sophomore Kaitlin Toner (Lousville, Ky. / Kentucky Country Day School) could be a full-time starter after starting 11 times as a rookie ... Defensively, the Scots limited opponents to two or less goals in all but three contests last year, and part of that group returns. If Leickly becomes a midfielder, sophomore Anna Hurley (Oxford, Ohio / Talawanda) will likely take over as the cornerstone of the backfield, having recorded eight defensive saves during the 2005 campaign … Wooster again will lean on one of the NCAC’s top goalies, Leigh, who will be a four-year starter and enters 2006 with a .844 career save percentage.