University of Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars women’s soccer coach Pete Kowall spent the early days of the season experimenting with different formations to get a feel for the team.
With 10 new players, Kowall is learning what works best for his personnel.
Among the familiar faces are defenders Jessica Jaime, a junior, and Liz Perrenot, a sophomore. The duo returns from last year’s 2-14 team. Rachel Neudahl, who was a standout player for Cary-Grove High School in the spring, will join them in the backfield.
A key newcomer in the midfield is Illinois State transfer Erin Egolf, a Chatham Glenwood High School graduate who was voted to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman team last fall.
Egolf and returnees Casey Thorpe and sophomore Kaitlyn Ebarb, who’s back after tearing the medial collateral ligament in her knee, will play important roles on offense.
“One of the things we hope to do is keep the ball in the offensive third more,” Kowall said. “We didn’t do that last year. If we hold the ball a little better, I think we’ll be good.
“We’re thin at the forward spots. We’ll see how it goes. We’re looking good on paper and looking pretty good in practice.”
UIS opens the season on Sept. 3 against William Jewell at home.
The women's soccer team was featured in a August 26, 2010, article in The State Journal-Register.
Download a PDF of the article
