May 18, 2004

BOLIVAR, MO. ... Adding more talent to an already very talented team, head women’s soccer coach Peter McGovern has added four more players for the 2004 soccer season. With these additions, SBU will look to make a run at the MIAA crown.

New Zealand Senior National Team players Rachel Doody and Hayley Moorwood have signed their letters of intent to attend Southwest Baptist University. Also eligible to play will be Ashley Munnelly. Both Doody and Moorwood bring national team experience from New Zealand and will join fellow nationl team members Priscilla Duncan and Pip Meo.

Coming in as the third New Zealand national team player, Doody has a list of awards she has garnered. Her biggest accomplishments have come from being on the National Team since 2001 when they competed in the U19 World Cup. She also was a participant on the Senior Women’s National team for the 2003 World Cup qualifying tournament

In 2003, she was given the ‘New Zealand Herald’ Junior Sports Person of the Year award along with touring the USA with the National Senior Women’s soccer team. A member of the Lynn Avon Premier Women’s soccer team, her team won two national competitions in the Uncle Toby “National Knock-out Competition" and the “Northern Premier Women’s Competition."

The 2002 year brought many highlights as well. She was presented with the ASB Award as the Young Sportsperson of the Year along with the SPARC Future Champions Award (only given to 52 champions across all sports). She toured Tonga with New Zealand’s U19 team and played for the Lynn Avon Premier league team. In 2001, she played for the U18 National Women’s team where they competed in the National Women’s Tournament. In that tournament, she was given the CY Woolfe Cup for Outstanding Young Player.

“I think Rachel’s biggest asset is her desire to play soccer at the highest level. She is very versatile and can play in a number of positions and has tremendous leadership capabilities. We think that Rachel will provide experience and an ability to compete against the best teams in the country and most importantly bring a defensive mindset to SBU. We expect great things from Rachel in terms of dominating games, especially in the MIAA," says head coach Peter McGovern.

The fourth New Zealand national team member will be Haley Moorwood. She also brings national team experience and has been a member since 2001. This past fall, she was a member of the Senior National Team that was a part of the Australia Cup and played China, Korea, and Australia. She has also been a member of the U17 and U19 national teams. In 2003, she represented her country on the World Cup team that played against Australia. She recently received the New Zealand Herald award for the Women’s Footballer of the Year.

McGovern says, “Hayley Moorwood, I feel, is potentially the best central midfielder in the central region, if not nation. A lot will depend on how quickly she adjusts to the collegiate soccer environment. She has the ability to play with both feet, performs extremely well under pressure and has the ability to change games. She has a tremendous work rate and I feel that she could be the catalyst for a push at making the NCAA Tournament in 2004. She already has a tremendous relationship with Priscilla Duncan having played with her for many years and after playing together in central midfield against Australia, China, and Korea, I feel like we could have the best central midfield in all of NCAA Division II, bar none."

After having to sit out a year due to MIAA transfer rules, Ashley Munnelly will return to the MIAA in a SBU uniform. She sat out the 2003 season after transferring from Missouri Southern. At MSSU, she was the MIAA MVP and an all-MIAA First-Team selection. A NSCAA All-Central Regional selection, she was given MIAA Player of the Week, twice, was a member of the Academic All-MIAA team, and was on the MIAA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll. In the 2002 season at MSSU, she had 19 goals, five assists, for 43 points. That was a MIAA best until this season when Sara Murray broke those records.

“Ashley Munnelly is a special player with a tremendous desire to win. She has shown us tremendous maturity in sitting out the 2003-04 athletic year and is hungrier than ever to re-establish herself as the premier forward in the MIAA. Most importantly, she brings a selfless attitude and a tremendous leadership that we are all sure will drive the SBU women’s soccer program to its best year ever," says McGovern

Also joining the SBU soccer program this year is KT Biri from Jackson High School in Jackson, Missouri. KT can play in central midfield, right midfield or as a forward. She has been all-conference, all-district, and all-state performer in Class 4A.

McGovern says, “We are very excited to have KT joining our program. She is a fantastic young girl with plenty of potential. Again, a lot will depend on how quickly she adapts to the collegiate environment. I feel that KT will be a tremendous addition to the program both on and off the field."

SBU will kick off the 2004 season when they will take on Minnesota-Duluth at North Dakota on Friday, August 27th. SBU plays what many consider to be the top schedule inside the central region as they take on all six opponents that were ranked above them in the final central regional poll including a rematch with final four participant Nebraska-Omaha, undefeated MIAA champion Truman State, and the 2003 #1 ranked team in the Central Region North Dakota. They will also take on the 2002 NCAA Division II National Champions in Christian Brothers.

“This year is a huge year for us. For the first time in my tenure here we are playing a top schedule where there is pressure on us to win. We also play five out of our first six games on the road and so we will have to be prepared mentally as well as physically to get results in the big games. We must also be aware that we are now a target for a lot of teams. How well we come out of preseason could decide whether or not we will have a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament this year. Not forgetting that for the first time in a long time the MIAA will have a tremendous amount of parity. Last year, there were four new head coaches inside of the MIAA. This year everybody has had a chance to build their program, recruit their own players, and set their own schedules and I think the MIAA will be the best conference inside of the region from top to bottom," says McGovern.