When Terri Patraw took over as head coach in 2004, she inherited a team that had never recorded a winning season nor qualified for postseason play. However, from day one she vowed that she would turn the
With 10 letterwinners and eight starters returning from Nevada’s 2006 WAC Tournament Championship squad, including defenders Patrice Godwin, Devin Noe and Jessica Wilcox, midfielders Blaine Dugan, Jessica Thompson and Miranda Montejo and forwards Karen Zmirak, Kenishia Warren and Samantha Miller, and the Pack’s third consecutive
“I think every year we expect to do better than the last year, obviously this is going to be the highest standard we have to achieve,” Patraw said. “We’d like to win the regular season conference championship, win another tournament championship, qualify for the NCAAs and continue to knock off Pac-10 teams like we have.”
While Nevada lost five seniors from last season including team MVP and captain Aivi Luik, Nevada’s career leader in assists, Lauren Kinneman, and captain and four-year letterwinner Terran Hadlock, the team returns four of its All-WAC honorees from 2006, first team members Miller and Wilcox and second-team honorees Montejo and Zmirak, from last season’s team that posted a program best 13-5-4 record and set numerous program records both offensively and defensively.
As in the past under
“This year’s incoming class is very talented and athletic, both fitness-wise and in strength and stamina,” Patraw said of her third consecutive top-ranked class in the WAC. “They know what they are getting into with us and I think every year we are able to recruit from a higher talent pool and these players are going to fit right in. Every one of them will compete for a starting spot.”
“The potential is there to have an amazing season and I’m very hopeful it will be our best season to date, even with the high standards we set last year,” Patraw said. “Staying healthy is always a key for any team so we’ll hope for that and we need our freshmen to step in because we lost five very good seniors.”
GOALKEEPER:
The Pack continued its trend of signing athletic goalkeepers this season with the addition of freshman Marie Cove and junior Sarah Hunt. Cove led her high school team to three Garden Grove League championships from 2003-06 and as a senior she was a team captain and an Empire All-League Defensive first-team selection. An all-around athlete, who was also an accomplished track athlete winning a Garden Grove League track title in 2006, Cove had her #17 soccer jersey retired at the end of her high school career.
“I think one of
Hunt, who is also a starting centerfielder and two-time All-WAC selection on
“Hunt is a polished athlete who reads the game tremendously well and has the ability to be a very good technical goalkeeper,” Patraw said.
DEFENDERS:
The Pack returns three of its four starting defenders from its 2006 backline in senior Jessica Wilcox, junior Patrice Godwin and sophomore Devin Noe. The Pack defense enjoyed its best season in program history last fall as the fast and athletic back line recorded a program-high 12 shutouts and allowed just 14 goals last season, an average of just over a half a goal per game (in 22 matches). The Pack’s defense also contributed offensively, showing they are dangerous on set pieces as Noe (1 goal, 3 assists) and Wilcox (1 goal, 2 assists) each recorded points for the Pack in 2006, mainly on free and corner kicks.
“Our defenders are wonderfully tough individuals, both mentally and physically,” Patraw said. “The key is communication and the chemistry back there – those three (Godwin, Noe and Wilcox) have it and we have a ton of speed back there. I think one of the things
Wilcox has already garnered 2007 honors as she was named to the 2007 Preseason All-WAC Team and the conference Co-Defensive Preseason Player of the Year. A first-team All-WAC honoree in 2006, Wilcox started all 22 games for 
Sophomore Whitney Gilson, who enjoyed a very successful spring season, saw time in the Pack defense in 2006, playing in seven matches during her rookie season. Junior Trisha Gibbons who appeared in one game for
“Gilson is as good a player as we have in the air, at 5’8 she is a wonderful presence and is one of the hardest workers in our program and has the potential to help us in the back or in the defensive midfield spot. She is definitely going to be an important part of this season,” Patraw said. “Gibbons had a great spring and is a great tackler on the ball.”
Newcomers Erin Smith and Vanessa Mann along with Gilson will all compete for a starting spot in the backline. Smith won five club championships with the Colorado Nike Rush and was a two-time first-team All-Jefferson County Conference selection. Mann won three national championships in soccer with New South Wales Combined High Schools. She also played for the Australian U19 Schoolgirls soccer team from 2004-06 and was named Female Athlete of the Year by the New South Wales Combined High Schools Sports Association in 2006.
“Both Mann and Smith are starting level players and will push our back four. They are going to give us some versatility to move a current defender into the midfield, or they could see time in the midfield,” Patraw said. “Smith is 5’10 and she gives us wonderful size. She has tremendous experience and is a real, wonderful athletic presence for us. Mann is an organizer of the defense and her maturity and experience will help us a ton.”
MIDFIELDERS:
The Pack midfield will have the newest look of any position for Nevada in 2007 as the midfield suffered the biggest losses after the 2006 season, losing seniors Luik, Hadlock and Kinneman to graduation. But,
“Montejo is our attacking midfielder - she is as savvy a player as they come and she’ll score, she’ll assist, she’ll set us up; she really controls the tempo of our game for us,” Patraw said. “Dugan had a fantastic spring and she is now a full year off of a knee injury and she is stronger than ever. She’ll get a lot of minutes at defensive mid and outside mid and compete for a starting spot at either one of those positions.”
Dugan, one of three seniors on the team, recorded a career-high seven points in 2006 including a two-goal effort versus
“Montejo, Dugan and Thompson, those three have logged a lot of minutes over the last two years for us and I expect all three of them to have a fantastic year,” Patraw said. “Those three are really going to be the key to our midfield along with getting the freshmen to come in and step up.”
Freshman Jill Erickson, who missed her senior soccer season with an injury, earned first-team
“Erickson has a complete overall game - attacking, defending, technical, athletic. She has the potential to be a big-time player for us as a freshman,” Patraw said. “Sacks will give us a wonderful, combative, courageous, physical presence. She is a tremendous athlete who will help us make up for what we lose in Terran Hadlock.”
FORWARDS:
Up top the Pack returns its speed and playmaking in senior Kenishia Warren (4 goals) and juniors Samantha Miller (7 goals) and Karen Zmirak (11 goals). After a full year of playing and training together, Miller, Warren and Zmirak, who accounted for 51 percent of the Pack’s scoring last year, will once again keep opposing defenses on their toes.
“The play together in the off-season between Warren, Zmirak and Miller was fantastic and all three would tell you that their chemistry is a lot better up there so our attack will be a lot more potent,” Patraw said.
Miller, a 2007 Preseason All-WAC selection, was second on the team in goals (7) and points (18) in 2006, while playing in all 22 games with 20 starts. Two of her seven goals were game-winning goals as she scored the game-winners at
“I believe Miller is the best forward in the conference - she has elite level speed and is a handful for teams,” Patraw said. “Her goal scoring presence has gotten better every year. She is stronger every year and she is an exciting player.”
Zmirak led the team and set single-season records in goals (11) and points (26) in her first season with
“Zmirak is every coach’s dream, she is a pure goal scorer,” Patraw said. “She hits the hardest ball of anyone I’ve ever coached. She can play with both feet, she is a fantastic finisher with both her head and her feet and she has a wonderful savvy to her game.”
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Newcomer Cristen Drummond, who could also see time in the midfield, lettered four years at
“Drummond is a speedster like Miller who is going to give us great speed and creativity whether she plays in the midfield or up top. She will get minutes in both places and is another starting level player,” Patraw said. “I love the group of forwards we have, they are all different personalities, different types of players. We have an envious offensive situation.”
SCHEDULE:
The 2007 squad will face its toughest schedule in program history, taking on three Pac-10 teams (Arizona, Oregon and Washington State), two first-time opponents (Arizona and Iowa State), in addition to playing UNLV who appeared in last season’s NCAA Tournament.
The Pack will play a pair of exhibition matches against
The Pack will host intra-state rival UNLV on Sept. 30 before traveling to
“I think your schedule always goes in relation to where you think your program is at and we think the 2007 team is capable of a challenging schedule like this,” Patraw said. “If we go through this non-conference schedule successfully it will give us wonderful challenges to prepare for conference play and everyone knows conference play is the most important part of your year.”
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