The UCSB women’s soccer season will debut on Saturday, when the Gauchos play their annual Blue-Gold Scrimmage at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium. Kick-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
UCSB, which was picked to finish fifth in the Big West Coaches’ Poll, will be relying on several returnees and a handful of newcomers in their effort to return to the upper-echelon of the league standings.
Four of the returnees who figure to have an impact right away are, in their own way, newcomers.
Forwards Brooke Salyer and Lauren Kennedy and midfielders Katy Roby and Nicole Romanowski all return after sitting out all or most of the 2010 season because of injuries.
“It will be good to have them back,” said 13th-year head coach Paul Stumpf. “They really bring a lot to the table with their experience, and sitting out and watching can also give players a good perspective.”
The Gauchos will also be returning much of their solid defensive unit from a year ago, including sophomore goalkeeper Makenna Henry who recorded a 0.95 goals against average as a full-time freshman starter.
Newcomers who are expected to make their presence felt and bolster the offensive attack include freshman forward/midfielder Indiana Mead (Boulder City, Nev./Boulder City HS) and junior forward Dyanne Anderson (San Clemente, Calif./Rancho Santiago College). Mead was a member of the U-18 National Pool and could be one of the most talented freshmen in recent memory, and Anderson scored more than 30 goals at Rancho Santiago College last year.
The Gauchos will open the regular season with match against Idaho at UNLV on Friday, Aug. 19. They will play at UNLV on Sunday, Aug. 21 before returning home to play a Friday, Aug. 26 game against Santa Clara at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium.
