Saint Rose women’s soccer team ranked No. 1 in Division II
The undefeated Saint Rose women’s soccer team ascended to No. 1 in the latest United Soccer Coaches rankings released on Tuesday. It’s a well-deserved nod to the coaching staff and players' hard work and perseverance over the course of the season.
“It’s fantastic, it’s so difficult to accomplish,” coach Laurie Darling Gutheil said. “Ultimately the goal is to be there the second week in December and there’s still more work to do to achieve that. But it reflects what the girls have done so far, and it also reflects the caliber of our program and the commitment, dedication and level of our players and everyone who supports our program.
“We understand that we represent more than ourselves. And we always want to be in the conversation as one of the top programs and top teams in the nation. You want to perform and consistently achieve the success that the girls are achieving.”
Saint Rose (15-0-1, 9-0-1), No. 3 in last week’s poll, took over the top spot in the rankings after picking up two Northeast-10 Conference wins last week against Pace and New Haven. Previous No. 1 Catawba College dropped to No. 4 after losing its first game of the season to Georgia College last Wednesday. Ashland University maintained its No. 2 ranking from last week.
The Golden Knights’ potent offense is led by junior forward Mia Klammer, who tops the NE-10 in virtually every offensive category with 14 goals, 12 assists and 40 points. Key contributors also include graduate midfielder Elina Seppala (six goals, nine assists) and freshman midfielders Sydney Myers (six goals, five assists), Brielle Zink (five goals, three assists) and Ashley Kieblesz (five goals, two assists).
Defensively, Saint Rose is led by senior Jada Brown, and graduates Caylee Boorse and Sanna Rein. The Golden Knights’ goalie...