Beset by loss of players, schedule conflicts and injuries, Mercer’s women’s soccer team ended the fall 2023 season with four wins, six losses and two ties. The team lost their Region 19 championship match against Essex 1-2 missing the chance to go to the National Championship in Arizona.
This was a setback after the previous year under former coach Elyse Diamond, when the team went a record-setting 14 wins and zero losses in the regular season. However, the 2022 Team had 20 players, the 2023 squad had a maximum of 15 many of whom fell to injury.
Head Coach Ron Stinson says, “We played the first four, five games with nine to 10 players and one of those players was a backup goalkeeper who had to play in a field position…we also didn’t have a natural striker and struggled to score goals.”
Freshman Business major Laura Kucharz, who was a leader in defense and one of the team captains said of the season says, “I think at the start it was really hard for all of us, because we didn’t have the numbers to play due to injuries…But with more practice and games we got better as a team.”
According to Rachelle Liechti, a former Mercer player who graduated with an associate’s degree in Business Administration in 2023, having fewer players in the spring is common.
Liechti says, “We had less people in the spring than in fall, because it wasn’t really a priority for everyone, because there is nothing to play for in the spring season…We had a lot of sophomores who were about to graduate so they focused on class more and on work more.”
Computer Science major Annika Maringer was Mercer women’s top goal scorer last season with seven goals and received a Player of the Week award. She is actively recruiting for next year.
Maringer says, “Coach Ron gives great exercises and, in the gym. And the location is also great. There is a lot you can do here like going to New York or Philadelphia.”
Karissa Estelle, who is the assistant coach for the Women’s soccer team, is involved in recruitment. She says, “The app we use is called Alliance Athletes and there we have multiple agencies sending us players that fit the Mercer budget and then we get in contact with them.”
Estelle continues, “We have seven International players who are committed for Fall 2024 coming from The United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland and then three local players coming from high school.”
Both Maringer and Kucharz are coming back to Mercer after the spring semester and will play in the fall season of 2024. They are expecting Mercer to recruit a higher number of players, so as to not have a repeat of 2023’s obstacles.
Coach Stinson has laid out his goals for next year. He says, “We are looking to have a Roster of about 21 to 22 players…We want to build a stronger team that can compete at a higher level while scoring goals and being great in defense…Going to the National Championship is always the ultimate goal and I think with the roster we are putting together we have a good shot.”
