The 2021 Centenary women's soccer season was one filled with many missed opportunities and close calls, making the 2022 Ladies hungry to capitalize on the opportunity in front of them.
It all begins Thursday evening in nearby Marshall, Texas as the Ladies face the East Texas Baptist University Tigers in a non-conference match set for 7 p.m. at Cornish Soccer Field.
The Ladies, led by third-year head coach Morgan Dorsey, finished the 2021 season at 4-10-2 and 2-3-2 in conference play and were in contention for a berth in the conference tournament on the final day of the regular season but fell at Dallas, 3-0. That overall record, though, was deceiving as the Maroon and White lost a pair of 1-0 matches and had consecutive matches in conference plays end in a tie in double-overtime. The Ladies did finish 4-2 in one-goal contests and were 2-1-2 in their five overtime/2OT matches.
Che Walcott enters his third season as assistant coach for the Ladies in 2022. He is a valuable member of Dorsey's staff as he has an extensive coaching background and a significant presence in the local soccer community.
Walcott played collegiately at both LSUS and Wiley College, from 2010-14 and also played for the Shreveport Rafters, a semi-pro team, from 2016-18. He was the head coach of both the Parkway High School girls' varsity and junior varsity teams from 2016-18, earning Coach of the Year honors in 2017 and 2018. Walcott served as a women's assistant coach at LSUS (2017-18) and was an assistant coach for the Blue Goose Soccer Club (USL 2) in 2022.
One of the highlights of last season was on Sept. 8 when the Ladies made history as they defeated a Division I opponent for the first time in the current division III era (2011-present), edging Alcorn State in a non-conference contest on the road, 2-1, in Lorman, Miss.
Centenary is scheduled to play 20 regular-season matches – 11 at home and nine road/neutral contests. Centenary begins Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Sunday, Oct. 2 at home versus Southwestern University at 1 p.m. and the Ladies' first conference road match is scheduled for Oct. 14 at Texas Lutheran.
Centenary's annual Senior Day match is set for Oct. 23 versus Trinity and the Maroon and White will complete its regular season on Oct. 30 at Dallas. The conference opener versus Southwestern is the first of three-consecutive home matches against conference competition as Austin College (Oct. 7) and Dallas (Oct. 9) come to town after the Ladies' match against the Pirates on Oct. 2.
The Ladies play six of their 10 September matches on their home field with their first action at Mayo Field taking place on Saturday, Sept. 3 versus St. Thomas. Centenary then welcomes both Sul Ross State (Sept. 9) and Howard Payne (Sept. 11) to town for a pair of non-conference weekend matches. Centenary will face Belhaven on the road on Sept. 13, St. Thomas on the road on Sept. 16 and then face LeTourneau and Alcorn State at home on Sept. 18 and 21 respectively.
Centenary returns 11 starters and multiple fifth-year players. Five freshmen and a pair of new sophomores will help bolster the roster. Headlining the group of returners this season are a trio of seniors - MF/D Gabby McDonald (Pasadena, Texas), F Sydney Bascomb (Mesquite, Texas) and MF Celeste Muniz (Denton, Texas). Both Bascomb and Muniz earned spots on the 2021 All-SCAC Women's Soccer Team as Muniz was named to the second team while Bascomb earned honorable-mention honors. The Ladies have now had at least two players named all-conference in every season but one since joining the SCAC in 2012.
McDonald led the Ladies last season with three goals, including one game-winner, and added an assist for a team-high seven points. She was named the SCAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 1 after she scored both goals for the Ladies in their 2-1 overtime victory at Austin College on Oct. 29, including the game-winner just over five minutes into the overtime period. McDonald, a 2020 First Team All-SCAC selection, has earned SCAC Player of the Week honors twice in her career after being named the Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 29, 2019. She ranks eighth in the division III era (2011-present) in career goals scored (nine) and is also in the top 10 in game-winning goals in a career with three.
The steady midfielder Muniz, an honorable-mention all-SCAC selection in 2020, played in 16 games this past season and made 15 starts. She recorded one assist and was a solid defender. She has played in 44 career matches with 29 starts and with three goals, two assists, and a pair of game-winning goals.
Bascomb, who was named Second-Team All-SCAC in 2020, played in 15 games with 12 starts last season. She scored one goal, a game winner in the Ladies 2-1 victory over Texas Lutheran on Senior Day, and had one assist for a total of three points. She took 33 shots with 14 coming on goal and was a stellar defender all season long. She finished the season eighth in the league in shots and shots per game. She has made her mark as one of the conference's top players throughout her career and has now played in 46 career matches with 42 starts and owns seven goals, nine assists, 23 points, and five game-winning goals. Bascomb ranks in the top 10 in the division III era (2011-present) in goals, points, assists, shots, and game-winning goals. With one more assist, she will set the record for most career assists as she is currently tied atop the list with Madison Alexander with nine assists each.
Junior F Daisy Acosta (Deer Park, Texas) played in 14 games and made 10 starts last season as she ranked second on the team with two goals and added an assist as she finished with five points. Fellow junior D Alexa Hinojosa (Pasadena, Texas) started 13 games last season and scored one goal, a game-winner in Centenary's 2-1 win at Alcorn State, and finished the season with two points and took eight shots (five on goal). In 2020 she was one of the top freshmen in the conference as she was named to both the SCAC All-Freshman Team and earned Honorable Mention All-SCAC honors.
Senior D Yosi Bouslog (Friendswood, Texas) started all 16 of the Ladies' games last season, has started in 45 in her career, and is a two-time all-conference selection during her time with the Ladies. Senior F Avery Gilbert (League City, Texas) has played in 45 career games with 22 starts and owns five goals, three game-winners, and four assists for a total of 14 points. Senior D/MF Veronica Dougherty (McAllen, Texas) is back for her fifth year along with McDonald and Sanderson, and has played in 40 career matches with 21 starts. She owns one career goal and two assists for a total of four points.
Senior GK Avery Sanderson (McKinney, Texas) is back after she started 14 games last season as the Ladies' primary keeper. She ranked in the top 10 in the conference in five different statistical categories – she finished in a tie for second in shutouts (2), sixth in saves (50) and GAA (2.00), and seventh in both save % (.649) and saves per game.
Junior GK Karlie Delhommer (St. Amant, La.) is back on the team after not playing since her fantastic freshman season in 2019. She started 18 of the 19 Ladies' games as a rookie three years ago and ranked in the top 10 in the SCAC in goals against average- 1.06 (third), saves (47), save percentage (.734), and shutouts with three. She allowed one goal or less in 14 of 18 starts, ranks first in career GAA in the current D3 era and her 1.06 GAA as a freshman is the second-best all-time in the D3 era.
"I am excited to have the season in front of us again," said Dorsey. "I know the players and coaching staff are ready to compete and see how much we can come together this season.
"Every year brings new challenges with a new team. Our schedule will challenge us and test us in a variety of ways, so we will have to rise to those challenges with hard work and determination to achieve our goals of being successful as a team."
"We return a strong group of players and will look to a trio of newcomers to make an immediate impact for the Ladies this season – freshman F Kylie Zeller (Denham Springs, La.), freshman MF Aubrey Burkhardt (Bossier City, La.), and freshman D Kayla Yancey (Crowley, Texas)."
The Ladies were picked to finish sixth in preseason conference poll released last week. The 2022 SCAC Women's Soccer Championship is set for Nov. 4-6 in San Antonio and hosted by Trinity University.
See the complete Ladies' schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wsoc/2022-23/schedule
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