The biggest storyline coming into 2019 for Waynesburg University women’s soccer is simple; will this team make the playoffs?

“Well, that’s the question of the past few years,” junior midfielder Jill Moyer said. 

In 2017, the Yellow Jackets lost just one of their first six non-conference games. The hot start didn’t translate to Presidents’ Athletic Conference play, however, and the team scuffled to a 3-6 league record. 

Last season, Waynesburg started 3-1 in the PAC, but a home loss to Chatham during fall break sent the Jackets into a downward spiral. The team lost it’s final three games by a combined score of 9-0, crashing out of the playoff picture with a 3-5 conference mark. 

For head coach Laura Heethuis, who is entering her sixth season at Waynesburg, the key to avoiding another disappointing finish won’t necessarily come from execution of X’s and O’s, but more so from making sure the team is as healthy as possible, both mentally and physically. 

“We just have to manage some bodies,” Heethuis said. “We have some players with some nicks already early on in the season and just some lingering stuff that they kind of deal with every year. So managing personnel, managing bodies [is important], but then making sure that we’re focused once the academic side starts to ramp up a little bit too. So it’s just knowing when to give the girls a little extra time to get homework done, and when to build on our training to make sure that we’re ready for the next game.”

According to the PAC’s preseason poll, the forecast for 2019 looks cloudy for Waynesburg. The Yellow Jackets were picked to finish sixth, which would be a minimal improvement from last year’s seventh place finish. Despite what the polls say, there are reasons to be optimistic about the year ahead. 

Although the Jackets lost some key contributors to graduation, such as defender McKenzie Shaffer, a four-year starter on defense, and Courtney Syfert, who was the team’s starting No. 1 goalkeeper for three years before an early graduation ended her soccer career, there’s enough talent back for the playoffs to be a realistic goal. 

Although Shaffer is gone, Waynesburg has three starters returning on the back line. In the midfield, Moyer and senior Teagan Jenner lead a group that didn’t graduate any regular starters, and up front, Emily Hill, who finished tied with Moyer for the team lead in goals last year [4], is back for her junior season. 

Overall, Heethuis is confident in Waynesburg’s ability to prevent goals, but knows the team needs to do a better job of scoring them. The Jackets finished 2018 seventh out of nine PAC teams in scoring, and scored just two goals over the last two weeks of the season. 

“Defensively, I hope that we can step right into where we left off,” Heethuis said. “It’s the attack that we need to continue to improve and figure out ways to score goals.”

Both the midfield and defense will be bolstered by freshmen. In the midfield, Mt. Lebanon nativegraduate Sarah Rentler has impressed Heethuis during camp, while Courtney Grove has done the same defensively. In total, the team has 27 players on its roster, and for Jenner, this depth will be key in qualifying for the postseason for the first time in five years. 

“We have a bench of really strong underclassmen,” Jenner said. “A bunch of freshmen coming in, as well as sophomores having had a full year of experience. So yeah, [making the playoffs is] extremely possible. [The team is] well balanced. We have more girls on our roster, so more competition for places, which is really good for us.”

Personnel wise, perhaps the biggest question mark Waynesburg has going into the season is the goalkeeping position. Heethuis said that there are three goalkeepers– freshman Autumn Blair and Kennedy Shuck along with junior Emma Burns.– that will all see playing time this weekend in the team’s first two games at Lancaster Bible and Penn State Harrisburg.

For Heethuis, a bigger roster means the team is more competitive with each goalkeeper battling other for a starting spots, and that attitude will translate into competition with other teams.

“We’ve definitely become more competitive this year, and our bench [is] deeper,” she said. “We have girls with a little more experience, and we have some young players that are coming in ready for the college game and able to earn some minutes too. So I think the season’s going to be competitive for us as a team, and also going to be competitive within the roster.”

The Jackets will play two non-conference games this week as they settle in following the Labor Day weekend. They will travel to La Roche Tuesday evening and battle Marietta on Saturday afternoon.Waynesburg opens the season this afternoon against Lancaster Bible at 2. The Jackets will then be off to Middletown, Pennsylvania to take on Penn State Harrisburg Saturday. PAC play begins Saturday, Sept. 28 at Chatham, and the last game of the regular season is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 29 against Geneva at John F. Wiley Stadium. 

For Moyer, the team is closer off the field than it has ever been, and believes that will translate to results on the field. that, if all goes well, will give the Waynesburg the opportunity to play soccer in November. 

“I really do think that we are even better connected than we have been before, and I think that will show in our playing now,” she said. “Because you always play better with people you have a connection with, and your really want to play for. It’s not for yourself anymore, it’s for your team. So I think that’s really going to help us.”