FROSTBURG, Md. - After a record setting season in 2008, the Frostburg State University women’s soccer team will have key holes to fill if it is to repeat last year’s 16-2-4 overall record, 15 shutouts and runner-up finish in the ECAC South Tournament. FSU set single-season school records in goals allowed (8) and goals against average (0.35), but graduated three seniors on the defensive side of the ball that started in all 22 games last year.

Junior Heather Fleishell (Middletown, Md./Middletown) is the only returning starter on defense and has the most experience on the backline. A First Team All-AMCC selection last fall, Fleishell started all 22 games at center back and finished second on the team with six goals scored.

Freshman Alexis Weller (Fallston, Md./Fallston), a four-time letter winner for Fallston, is likely to fill the other center back position, while fellow classmate Liz Seligman (Rockville, Md./St. Johns College), a four-year letter winner for St. John’s College, has earned the start at wide back.

The fourth defensive starting position is up for grabs as the team heads into its first contest. The leading contenders are sophomores Nikki Rieland (Mt. Airy, Md./South Carroll) and Meische Cox (Laurel, Md./Laurel) along with freshman Megan Johnson (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach). Rieland played in eight games last fall while Cox started in eight and had three assists.

Sophomores Erin Bryce (Welcome, Md./Lackey) and Olivia Winant (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) and freshman Kaitlyn Decker (Elton, Md./North East) will all enter the fall season looking for time on the defensive unit. Bryce and Winant combined to play in 12 games a year ago.

The goalkeepers are the most competitive unit this season and are as impressive as they have ever been under eighth-year Head Coach Brian Parker. The group is led by senior and returning starter Stephanie Gwinn (Ijamsville, Md./Urbana). Gwinn, an All-AMCC Second Team honoree last year, allowed just eight goals last season in almost 1,500 minutes played. She posted an 11-2-1 overall record with 42 saves.

Gwinn will be pushed for playing time this season by sophomores Michelle Buckmaster (St. Leonard, Md./Calvert) and Kristin Prochniak (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) and freshman Jessica Flewellyn (Arnold, Md./Broadneck).

Buckmaster saw quality time in goal last season making 10 appearances and five starts, including the AMCC and ECAC Championship games. She posted a 4-0-2 record with five shutouts and 13 saves.

Prochniak is among the most improved players on the team heading into the 2009 season and should compete for time after appearing in two games last season. Meanwhile, Flewellyn had a solid preseason and is not far behind the returners.

The midfield unit returns three starters from a year ago and is looking very good through preseason.

Leading the way is senior center midfielder Lauren Lentine (Princeton, N.J./WWP North), the 2008 AMCC Player of the Year. She has started in all 63 games during her previous three seasons and has totaled 24 goals and 12 assists.

Junior Shonna Ferree (Frostburg, Md./Beall) returns as the other starter at center midfielder. Ferree, who has one of the highest work rates on the team and earned All-AMCC Honorable Mention honors last fall, started 21 games with three goals and an assist last season.

Freshman Heather Kinsey (Sykesville, Md./Century) should challenge both Lentine and Ferree for minutes in the center midfield and could possibly swing out to wide midfield.

Senior Kelly Sanzone (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) and sophomore Erin Ford (Waldorf, Md./Westlake) are center midfielders that will also compete for time this season. Sanzone appeared in 16 games with one start while Ford played in 12 games and tallied one goal.

Junior Kierstin Stevenson (Frostburg, Md./Beall) and sophomore Cassie Donahue (Cumberland, Md./Fort Hill) return as the starting wide midfielders in 2009. Stevenson, who scored two goals and added four assists in 22 starts last year, has had a terrific preseason and looks very comfortable as the year approaches. Donohue played in nine game last year before an injury kept her on the sidelines. This season, she is fully healthy and ready to contribute to the midfield.

Senior Christine Fitzgerald (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg), sophomore Jessica Kraemer (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) and freshman Erin Proctor (Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) all enter the year looking for time in the midfield. Fitzgerald scored three goals in 19 games last fall while Kraemer appeared in nine games with a goal and an assist.

Up front, the attack will be led by junior Lauren Russell (Waldorf, Md./Westlake), who led the team in preseason fitness testing. Russell, a First Team All-AMCC selection last fall, led the team in scoring with 12 goals and six assists and is expected to be the top scorer again this year.

Senior Kaleigh Herring (Perry Hall, Md./North Harford) has shown steady improvement throughout her four years as a Bobcat and brings leadership to the front line.

Freshman Amanda Wharton (Mt. Airy, Md./South Carroll) is one of the best athletes on the team and brings with her a terrific prep background at FC Frederick and South Carroll high school.

Fitzgerald, who is the Bobcats most interchangeable player, could also see time on the front line. She has break away pace that will allow her to compete for time at forward.

This season, four-year starter and two-time All-AMCC selection Jackie Donovan joins the FSU coaching staff. Donovan started 83 games on defense for the Bobcats and helped the team to a 55-20-8 overall record during her four years.

The 2009 Bobcat schedule features opponents from five different conferences and one NCAA Division II team. The Bobcats kickoff the season at Eastern Mennonite before an early test with three-straight opponents from the Capital Athletic Conference, including 2008 champion St. Mary’s. In mid-Sept., FSU travels to St. Vincent before hosting AMCC rival Penn State Behrend on Sept. 19.

Frostburg State hosts Division II Shepherd (Sept. 22) and then travels to McDaniel before welcoming 2009 AMCC Tournament champion Penn State Altoona on Sept. 29.

The Bobcats were picked to finish second in the AMCC this season according to the coaches preseason poll. FSU, which finished runner-up in both the regular season and conference tournament last year, will look to capture its first conference crown since 2005. Altoona was selected to defend last year’s title, while Penn State Behrend (No.3 ), La Roche (No. 4) and Medaille (No.5) round out the top five.