WAVERLY, Iowa – Wartburg women's soccer is set to open the 2024 season on the road against St. Olaf College on Friday, Aug. 30 at 1 p.m. before the home opener against St. Mary's University (Minn.) on Monday, Sept. 2 at 3 p.m.
Last Season
The Knights finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 6-11-1 and an American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) mark of 4-4. Wartburg qualified for the A-R-C Tournament where the Knights fell to Luther on the road in the quarterfinal round.
Lauren Kirkle earned All-Conference honors from the A-R-C.
Season Outlook
Wartburg returns seven starters from last year's team, including All-Conference performer Kirkle. The Knights return 15 out of 22 goals scored from last season as well as 12 out of the 13 assists. In goal,
Alena Miller returns after logging 91 saves in 15 starts in 2023. The Knights will also welcome 12 newcomers to this year's roster.
"We've had a great preseason, our team really did the work this summer," said head coach
Emily Ryan. "They came into preaseaon really fit which helped us hit the ground running from a tactical and strategy standpoint. We have a lot of youth on our team, so we've been able to jump right in and get them blended in and learning our system. We're seeing progress as a team everyday."
Wartburg was selected to finish tied for fourth in this season's A-R-C preseason poll as voted on by the coaches. Full preseason poll (first-place votes): 1. Loras (8) 2. Simpson (1) 3. Dubuque T4. Wartburg T4. Luther 6. Central 7. Coe 8. Nebraska Wesleyan 9. Buena Vista
Ryan spoke about what it will take to compete in a strong A-R-C this season, "We have to be physical and play with place. We have to be creative in our oppurtunities because our conference is extremely strong, so to compete at that level we have to be prepared and take advantage of the opportunities we get in the final third."
The Orange & Black's schedule features 10 nonconference opponents with five of the matches scheduled at home at Salzwedel Field. Wartburg opens A-R-C play on the road against the University of Dubuque on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m.
"We have another very tough nonconference schedule this year," said Ryan. "We kick off with a couple MIAC games and then will see some teams that finished at the top of our region in 2023. It's exciting and should give us a test heading into a competitive A-R-C slate."
