November 10, 1997

SOCCER TEAMS END FALL SEASON WITH MIXED EMOTIONS

The Monmouth College men's and women's soccer teams recently concluded their 1997 competition season with the programs experiencing mixed emotions and unusual results. The men's team, which began its 1997 schedule with lofty goals and high expectations, suffered through its worst season in the past five years as devastating injuries took their toll on the squad. Meanwhile the women's team, in only its fourth year of existence as a varsity sport, enjoyed their first winning campaign and set numerous individual and team records.

The men's team finished with an overall record of 4-12, the first losing mark under Coach Rue Carthew since the 1991 season. Carthew's career mark now stands at 56-49-8 in seven years at Monmouth. The Scots' streak of ten-win seasons was snapped at four straight (1993-96) and the squad's 1-8 record left the Scots in 8th place among the ten Midwest Conference schools.

Senior Josh Oakley (Mattoon,IL/HS) ended a stellar Monmouth career with a team-high 14 goals and 32 total points. Oakley's totals were the fifth-highest single-season output for both goals and points in program history and his career numbers place him third on the Scots' all-time scoring lists (29 goals, 66 points). Oakley and midfielder Sean Lowery (St. Charles,MO/Francis Howell North) (5 goals, 3 assists) carried much of the scoring burden of the team after early-season injuries claimed two of Monmouth's best returning offensive players. The loss of junior All-Conference midfielder Washington Mukumbila (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) and sophomore Jason Blair (Danville,IL/HS) for the season with knee injuries severely hampered the team results. Oakley and Lowery each missed several games during the middle of the schedule with minor injuries and the Scots' All-Conference goalie, senior Jeff Sutton (Alton,IL/HS) missed the final four matches after suffering a broken leg.

As much as the men's season was a nightmare, the women's campaign was a dream season. Coach Simon Cordery saw a group of seasoned veterans meld with a promising freshman class to produce the first winning records in team history. The Scots finished at 8-7 overall and a surprising 5-4 in Midwest Conference matches. The women placed 5th in the final league standings , missing a berth in the conference tournament by only one spot and served notice of their potential for future success.

Junior striker Tisha Kimoto (Aurora,IL/Waubonsie Valley) started off slowly but caught fire late in the season to finish with a team-high and school single-season record 11 goals. Freshman forward Jessica Adams (Harvard,IL/HS) also hit double figures with 10 goals and the pair shared scoring honors with 23 total points, another individual school record. Kimoto's efforts improve her career totals to 20 goals and 42 points. Sophomore midfielder Jill Heneghan (Godfrey,IL/Alton) added four goals and eight assists to move into second place on the Scots' career scoring list with 24 points while junior Jennifer McKee (Stockton,IL/HS) scored three goals to tie Heneghan for third-best career goal total (6).

The Scots' scoreboard included a 9-0 thrashing of Greenville College, a match which saw new team marks established for most goals in a half (5), match (9) and by a single player (Adams, 3). Ten different players scored during the season for Monmouth, which tallied a team-record 33 goals while limiting the opposition to 30 in their 15 matches. Sophomore goalkeeper Colleen Shaughnessy (Springfield,IL/Ursuline Academy) was the team's top goalie and recorded three individual shutouts.