Women's Soccer ready to take the pitch this spring

The Muskingum women's soccer team are ready to take the pitch this spring after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Muskies begin the 2021 season at Ohio Athletic Conference foe John Carroll on Sunday, March 14, at 2:00 p.m.

The Coach: Muskingum will be led by first year head coach Dani Gunderson. Gunderson arrives at Muskingum after a highly successful four-year stint as an assistant coach at Denison University. Throughout her tenure with the Big Red, Denison won one North Coast Athletic Conference Championship, one NCAC Tournament title, and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament. During Gunderson's time with the Big Red, Denison amassed 38 overall wins and logged an impressive 20-6-6 mark in conference play. She coached 24 All-NCAA student-athletes, five all-region players, three NCAC Players of the Year and one All-America and All-America Scholar-Athlete.

The Captains: The Muskies will be led by senior goalkeeper Katie Bodenmiller, senior defender Alyssa Schneider, senior defender Sarah Landis, and sophomore defender Sheridyn Woofter. Bodenmiller started 18-of-19 in net for the Muskies in 2019 and logged in a career-best 1469:03 minutes in goal. She registered a career-high 125 saves, secured one assist, and earned OAC Women's Soccer Player of the Week accolades.

Schneider started all 19 games for Muskingum last season and notched a career-high one goal and one assits. She excelled off the field as well earning Academic All-AOC Honor Roll accolades and was named Academic All-Ohio by the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association (OSCA). Landis played in 14 games with 4 starts last year, while Woofter competed in 14 games with 9 starts for the Muskies.

The Players: Players to watch out for and make an immediate impact this season are senior forward Mary Double, junior midfielder/defender Maddie Wirtley, sophomore midfielder/defender Jenna Jordan, sophomore midfielder Monique Reil, and sophomore midfielder/forward Lexi Fry.

Double started all 19 games last season and led the team in scoring with a career-high six goals last season while also tallying one assist. Against Bethany, she tied the Muskingum record for goals in game with three and ended the year with a career-best 13 points. Wirtley played in 16 games with 14 starts in 2019 and registered one goal and one assist.

In the 2019 season, Jordan played in 13 games with 13 starts for Muskingum, while Reil started 15-of-19 games and registered two assists. Fry appeared in all 19 games for the Muskies last season with nine starts and tallied two assists.

The Schedule: The schedule features a nine-game schedule for the spring 2021 season. Muskingum will play all OAC schools this spring on mainly Thursday and Sunday. Game times will be 7:00 p.m. on Thursdays and 2:00 p.m. on Sundays. The Muskies open the new season on Sunday, March 14, at John Carroll.

Spectator Policy: Beginning on March 8, the following policies and protocols will be in place at Muskingum. 

• The home team shall receive two admissions per dressed student-athlete and coach. The visiting team shall also receive two admissions per student-athlete and coach, per established "Travel Squad Limits. 
• These admissions may not exceed 30 percent of spectator area capacity.
• There will be no public sales of tickets, and no passes will be issued for entry.
• Attendees at events will be required to wear masks and abide by social distancing guidelines.

Broadcasts: All home games will be played at the North Athletic Turf Field and will feature an HD video stream accessible through the OAC TV app and on fightingmuskies.com.