2009 Review The University of Mobile women’s soccer team went 10-10-1 in the third season under Head Coach Brian Person in 2009, and finished one game shy of qualifying for the NAIA National Tournament.
Lady Rams were not far from reaching their potential, as five of the six losses were by only one goal, including a 2-1 loss in the final seconds to Top-5 Azusa Pacific and a 2-1 overtime loss to Belhaven.
“We’ve improved each of the past two years, and came very close to achieving our goal last year, which has laid a foundation for our future success,” Person said.
“That mid-season stretch was disappointing after our solid start, and it was tough being so close in so many big games,” Person said. “It just came down to missing some makeable goals and having defensive breakdowns at the wrong time.”
The Lady Rams started the year with a 3-1-1 mark, dropping only a 2-1 decision to perennial power Martin Methodist in overtime. They blanked Warner University, Warner Pacific and Nova Southeastern in the stretch.
From there, the Lady Rams closed out the regular season by splitting a pair of onegoal conference games, beating Spring Hill and falling to William Carey.
“Our season started off on a high note, but it could’ve been better,” Person said. “Our defense was very solid, but we should’ve won our opener and had a chance to make a statement versus Martin Methodist.”
At the GCAC Tournament, Mobile exacted revenge by eliminating Belhaven 1-0 to set up a finals showdown with William Carey. In the game, the Lady Crusaders’ defense proved to be too strong as Mobile fell 2-0.
Following a 2-0 win over Nova Southeastern, Mobile struggled to a 3-6 mark over the next nine contests.
“William Carey is always a tough team and we usually play them close,” Person said. “We had our chances, but their defense turned us away, and they kept the pressure on offensively.”
They lost four-straight to West Florida, AUM, Oklahoma City and Azusa Pacific to start the stumble, and then won three of the next five, dropping winnable games to Northwood and Belhaven. Despite the 3-6 record in the stretch, the
Due to the GCAC not having enough teams to officially qualify as a conference, the season was not over for Mobile. Instead, the Lady Rams went to Dallas, Texas for the NAIA Unaffiliated Champi-
University of Mobile
onship to try and earn a berth in the NAIA National Tournament. Mobile got past College of Saint Mary 4-1 and blanked Carroll College 1-0 to set up another showdown with William Carey for another championship. The game was another heart breaker for the Lady Rams, as they fell 2-0. William Carey struck for a 1-0 lead just minutes into action, and soon after, Mobile picked up a red card and was forced to play a man down. “At the beginning of the year, one of your goals is always to put yourself in position to make the National Tournament, and we did that,” Person said. “We faced a lot of early adversity versus William Carey and our girls put up a great fight, but we just could not pull it out.” Several Lady Rams were rewarded for the play on the field. Anna Maddox and Missy Stovall were named NAIA All-Americans, while they were joined as 1st-Team AllConference selections by Christy Lachappelle, Ashley Lachappelle and Terri McCreadie. Olivia Maddox and Danielle Byrd were named 2nd-Team All-Conference.
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