BOLIVAR, MO -- When Head Coach Ben Wade began to address his needs for the 2007 season, one of the first was to bring in an addition to the coaching staff. Dane O'Mahoney joined Amber Gwinn and Mitchell Browning (known as Rocky 'B') and Augustin Cmet on the sidelines in the capacity of assistant and head video man. Coach Wade and his staff led the SBU Lady Bearcats to a very successful season and helped them grow as soccer players and people. After adding to the coaching, staff Ben Wade turned his attention to recruiting and brought in a marvelous class.
Coach Wade brought in 13 new players including 2 junior transfers and 11 incoming freshman. These girls hailed from as far away as the Bahamas and England to as close as Springfield, Missouri. This class of recruits, along with the returning players, gave Southwest Baptist University a season to remember and brought attention to a growing program.
The Lady Bearcats faced two long road trips in the beginning of the year, including Dallas and Oklahoma City, in the span of two-weeks' time, in which they faced nationally-ranked opponents.
Southwest Baptist competes in the tough MIAA conference. The Lady Bearcats did well in conference play this year and had a highlight win on October 12th when they defeated the Central Missouri Jennies (ranked #1 in the region at gametime) on the road. It was a nail biter of a game with Freshman Jayme Ross notching the winning goal as she bulged the back o’ the ole onion bag in double overtime to propel SBU on to a 3-2 victory.
SBU's renowned defensive unit, led by the coaching of Mitchell Browning and the goal-keeping of Aline Lopes, once again had a stellar year. The Lady Bearcats ranked second in conference in goals allowed, just two hundredths of a percentage point behind Truman State for the conference lead. They were first in goals against average allowing only 15 goals in over 1900 minutes of play. Aline Lopes posted nine saves in conference and recorded 8 shutouts.
SBU finished at 9-8-3 overall and at 8-5-1 in conference. This record was good enough to earn them a birth in the inaugural MIAA post-season tournament, where they reached the finals ands lost in the 87th minute to Truman State. It was a painful end to a highly successful season that said goodbye to seniors Midfielder Fivi Mihai, Midfielder Christina Swartz, Defender Darla Zarndt, Goalkeeper Aline Lopes, Forward Jenny Jaggard and Forward/ Midfielder Atefeh Heivary. But it was also a season that caused the MIAA to take notice as Southwest Baptist saw six players named to the All-MIAA team and a unanimous choice for Freshman of the Year, Dominie Emmanuel. Emmanuel, from London, England, was the MIAA's top freshman scorer. Joining Emmanuel on the first team were senior Goal Keeper Aline Lopes, junior Defender Aude LeChat and sophomore Mid Fielder Caitlin Tull. Defender Taylor Fowler and Mid Fielder Christina Swartz were selected as All-MIAA Honorable Mention. With a post season birth, six players on the MIAA team and the Freshman of the Year the Lady Bearcats had a remarkable season and will only get stronger in the future.
