Oracle Online

On Oct. 29, the Pipers closed out the season strong with a 1-0 shutout against Clark College at Pat Patterson Fields. The game was a non-MIAC contest. Junior forward Ann Donner scored the lone goal of the game for the Pipers. At the 22:30 point of the first half, sophomore Kim Magill assisted Donner in netting her sixth goal of the season, three fewer than Donner’s total from last year. For the contest against Clarke, Donner had three shots on goal. The Pipers played a solid game, all around. The Hamline defense only allowed eight shots the whole game, while the offense mustered 15 shots.

Before the start of the season, preseason prognosticators cited Hamline’s athletic core of young goalkeepers as a strength. Goalkeepers Andrea Eilertson, Samantha Winkelman, and Jessica Heritage proved to be assets last Sunday. Senior Andrea Eilertson got the victory according to the record books, but it was a collaboration of the skills of all three goalkeepers that netted the shutout. Eilertson had one save, first-year Samantha Winkleman had three, and Jessica Heritage also had one save.

Last year, Head Coach Tony Englund had the Pipers experience progress and growth in his fourth year at the reins. Although they were 7-11 overall, the 2005 Pipers were a solid team with high ceiling for success. The women’s team tied the Hamline records for wins in a season, for most goals scored, and shots taken, last year. Also, the 2005 Pipers lost five conference games by a score of 1-0. They were a very competitive team, to say the least. With the 2006 season now in the record books too, the Pipers finished the season with a record of 3-11-1 overall. The preseason coaches poll was wrong; the Pipers didn’t finish tenth of twelve, they digressed to the cellar of the MIAC; twelfth place of twelve teams.

Next year, Coach Englund (17-49-3 record for his career at Hamline) will have a familiar team as only three of his players are set to graduate. This is a talented team and they've shown how good they can be. No doubt, the Piper team has a bitter taste in their mouths after this season but with a couple of new additions next year and another year of maturation for Englund’s veterans, this is still going to be a team to watch in 2007.