2011 Women's Soccer Team
First Region IV women's soccer team to ever reach the NJCAA National Tournament
Region IV and District D Champions, ranked 7th nationally in final poll
Broke or set nearly every program record, many of which still stand
10 All-ISCC and All-Region selections
Sometimes the last hurdle is the toughest one to clear. That certainly seemed to be the case for Waubonsee’s women’s soccer program, which played its inaugural season in 2001. The Chiefs’ program went through the usual growing pains the first few years, then turned the corner in 2008 as success within the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference and Region IV followed. However, the final hurdle to a berth in the National Tournament always seemed to block their way.
The 2011 Chiefs changed all that by becoming the first Region IV women’s soccer team to ever win a District title and advance to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament. Despite beginning the season 5-5, they finished with 17 wins, one shy of the program record set the year before, and were ranked seventh nationally in the final NJCAA poll. The Chiefs captured the Region IV crown with three straight shutouts, outscoring their opponents a combined 21 to nil. Waubonsee then traveled to Michigan where they downed Delta College 2-1 in the District title match, out shooting their four playoff foes a combined 94-6 along the way.
Although they went 0-2 at the 8-team, double-elimination National Tournament in Melbourne, Florida, Waubonsee did make an impression in its first appearance on the national stage. Matched up in the first round against undefeated (21-0) and top-seeded Tyler (TX) Junior College, the eventual National Champion with their roster full of international players, the Chiefs scored twice in the first half against an Apaches team that had allowed just five goals all season.
Led by NJCAA All-American striker Maxzine Rossler’s program record 34 goals, which were the second most nationally that fall, the Chiefs tallied a team record 125 goals. Jessica Alvarez finished 6th nationally in assists with a Chiefs’ single-season record of 19, while the team established a program record of 111 assists on the season. Nine different players reached double figures in points, including team captain Becky Bartos, as the Chiefs tallied a record 361 team points. Freshman forward Valerie Farfan finished 10th nationally in goals with 26 and in points with 65, helping spark the Chiefs’ dominating offense which registered a program record 644 shots on goal. Over the course of the season 16 different players scored at least one goal, while everyone registered at least one assist as well. Midfielder Liz Barnes ranked 25th nationally in assists with 13 and scored 11 goals before being sidelined with a knee injury late in the season, and Cindy McDonald booked 10 goals and 12 assists while also playing on defense at times.
Spearheaded by Priscila Diaz, Gretchen Tyler and Stephanie Salinas, the Chiefs’ defense set a school-record with 15 shutouts and allowed only 120 shots on goal in 25 matches. Kaylee Berg was named the top goal keeper in Region IV after posting a miniscule goals-against-average of 0.86 heading into the National Tournament. Overall 10 different Chiefs earned All-Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference and All-Region accolades, with head coach Leslie Ferguson being named the Region IV Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year. To cap it all off, the team’s core of sophomore players finished with a two-year record of 35 wins in their Waubonsee career. In the end, the 2011 Chiefs broke nearly every program record that fall, 14 of which still stand today.