Southern Virginia University Women's Soccer
Coach Ryan Foster

Spring Soccer
It's always nice to get back into the swing of things after a layoff. Although the weather doesn't seem to be much different from the last time we were playing. All in all, it's good to get back with the girls, and to work on some things in preparation for the Fall. Just would be nice to be above the 50's when we train. Isn't it supposed to be Spring?

Big new about Summer Camp. Check out this link to get some information on the first ever Southern Virginia University Women's Summer Soccer Camp!

https://app.teamlabhq.com/s...

The picture has Laura Schow in it. She will be leaving on a mission for the LDS Church soon, and she wanted to add this post. Hope you enjoy it.

Hello to all that are thinking of attending SVU and playing on the Women’s Soccer team. I am Laura Schow, a junior at SVU, and am serving in the Chile, Santiago North mission come February 13th, 2013. I am very excited to go serve, and wanted to thank everyone who helped me get there. The SVU soccer team, players, coaches, trainers, staff, etc., have helped shape me into who I am. So, here are just a few of the things I have learned that helped me decide to go on a mission and will make me a more effective missionary:
1. Sabbath day play. One thing that made a huge difference in my life was a team conflict from my freshman year. We made it to the national tournament, held in Burlington, VT in November (look it up on the map—it was a cold tournament). We had some really good games, and made it to the semi-finals. There was one problem though; that was the pinnacle of our tournament. The championship game was on Sunday, and could not be moved. Coach gathered us together as a team to make a decision—to play or not to play. As a team, we chose to not play. That 12-hour van ride on Sunday (also my birthday) ended up being a lot of fun, although it was sad to not be staying an extra night to play on Monday. I will never regret that decision though. We chose to keep the Lord’s Sabbath day holy and stay “unspotted from the world”, and I will always remember that day that I chose the Lord over something that mattered to me greatly. With that precedent, I have had my “day of decision” (President Hinckley), and will strive to have integrity in my life.
2. Most Recent Cancer Awareness Game. This last season, we raised money for LiveStrong in honor of Al and Meghan Blackham’s dad that has cancer. He is a generous and kind man, and it was an honor to be able to play in memory of him. One of the wonderful things that SVU offers is that I actually know Al and Meghan’s parents. They have given me a ride up Chestnut Ave when it was raining; I don’t think that people recognize you as well if you go to a big school. Mr. Blackham was instrumental in getting the donation for the lights on our field. From this association, I have learned that there is always time to be kind and generous, even when you are struggling with something.
3. “Winners don’t need friends; winners have trophies.” This is perhaps my #1 favorite quote of Coach Grawrock. I learned from coach that to reach your goals, you should run over whoever is in your way to get there. I think he is joking...I think. Just kidding, coach really prompts team unity, and some of my best friends are my teammates. Playing soccer is high-stress, as are missions and marriage. When you have disagreements with teammates and friends, forgiving and forgetting and talking through things is really important. Sometimes you don’t really know what happens to cause tension, but when you learn to cope with that, it helps you have a less-stressful life. SVU Women’s Soccer has taught me some great lessons in getting along with others.
Thank you to all who have helped me reach my goals. The people I have been privileged to meet have changed my life for the better. God bless.
P.S. I could have missed this marvelous opportunity had I chosen a different school. It was open to me to go to my parent’s and sister’s alma mater, but I asked God, and He told me that SVU is where He needed me, or where I needed to be. So, a word of advice; pray well about where you go to school. If you get your answer and do not see how it will work out (be it financially or distance from home, etc), have some faith, it may work out in the last month of your decision-making (according to my experience). Thanks for reading. See you Fall 2014!

I get asked frequently by recruits how our last season went. Well our SID did a great season recap, and I figure this is a good thing to post:

The Southern Virginia University women's soccer team ended its 2012 campaign on a strong note, finishing with an 8-8-1 record in preparation for next year's entrance into the Capital Athletic Conference.

"Our team came together when it counted and had a great year," said sixth-year Head Coach Matt Grawrock. "We finished the season well down the stretch, giving us momentum for next season."

The Knights enjoyed a banner 2012, highlighted by the most goals scored (53) and assists (26) by a women's soccer team throughout Grawrock's six-year tenure as head coach. Southern Virginia also improved its win total from five wins in 2011 to eight this season.

In fact, the Knights ended the year going 5-1-1 in their final seven contests, including a five-game winning streak from Oct. 5-20—the program's longest winning streak since the 2003 squad also won five consecutive matches.

"The strength-of-schedule has improved each of my six seasons at Southern Virginia [University]," said Grawrock. "I feel that although we lost some close games, our team played up to the level of competition and earned key wins to conclude a successful campaign."

Despite dropping three one-goal contests,—losses to NCAA Division II Concord University (2-1 on Oct. 1) and NCAA DIII clubs Marymount University (1-0 on Sept. 19) and Ferrum College (3-2 on Sept. 26) on the road—Southern Virginia earned key wins during its five consecutive victories over opponents West Virginia Tech (4-0 on Oct. 13) and NAIA-affiliate Milligan College (2-1 on Oct. 17).

On three separate occasions, the Knights won games by an 8-0 margin shutting out William Peace University, Patrick Henry College and Trinity Washington University.

Grawrock—the program's second winningest coach with 46 victories—had a recipe set up for a solid year with 16 returners and a talented group of newcomers.

Sophomore Lora Palmer (Alpine, Utah) headlined the Southern Virginia squad as the speedy forward was named the Knights' first VaSID Rookie of the Year while also earning USCAA First Team All-American and VaSID Second Team All-State honors.

During her rookie campaign with the Knights, Palmer led the team in goals (15), assists (4), total points (34) and shot-on-goal percentage (77.6%). Palmer's 15 single-season goals ranks fifth all-time in program history.

"Lora worked hard all season and was a key factor in our team's success," said Grawrock. "Her speed and commitment to the team always put her in great positions to score and she never let us down."

USCAA All-American Second Team selection and second-year Knight sophomore forward Jade Sorensen (Spring, Texas) served as another offensive threat netting 9 goals and dishing out 3 assists for 21 total points—second-most behind only Palmer.

"Jade had an outstanding second season," said Grawrock. "She played so many roles for us and has such a wonderful attitude. She had great goals this season that always seemed timely."

In addition to nominations for its play on-the-field, women's soccer also produced ten USCAA All-Academic selections—Jackie Barlow (Fruit Heights, Utah), Meghan Blackham (Las Vegas, Nev.), Randi Jones (Tremonton, Utah), Britney Jones-Porter (Spanish Fork, Utah), Amber Key-Winsor (Flower Mound, Texas), Bryndel Kindred-Lytle (Tremonton, Utah), Makenzie Lundquist (Alpine, Utah), Palmer, Laura Schow (Plymouth, Utah) and Sorensen.

Women's soccer's ten All-Academic selections are the most of any single team in Southern Virginia history.

"To have a third of our team with a 3.5 GPA or higher is an amazing thing," said Grawrock. "I really believe that a huge part of our success this season is due to the fact that our players prioritize their time and efforts so effectively."

Lone senior Key-Winsor ended her four-year career with her most productive season as a Knight, tying Palmer for a team-high four assists and ranking third on the squad with four goals and 12 points.

Rounding the offensive attack, junior Kindred-Lytle and sophomore Emily Lakin (Stansbury Park, Utah) registered nine points each while scoring four and three goals respectively.

"When Amber is connecting on her passes and is healthy, we're a tough team to beat," said Grawrock. "Bryndel [Kindred-Lytle] was a warrior for us this year, and Emily gave us a different look offensively."

After allowing 3.50 goals-per-game in 2011, Southern Virginia's defense tightened its screws and allowed 2.32 goals-per-game through its 17 matches this season.

Sophomore goal keeper Lundquist went a solid 6-5-1 at the net, averaging 2.27 goals allowed per-contest and registering 52 total saves.

"It was fun to watch Makenzie [Lundquist] grow in confidence throughout the season," said Grawrock. "She is one of the main reasons our defense had six shutouts on the year."

Grawrock also counted on returning juniors M. Blackham and Schow along with junior transfer R. Jones and incoming freshmen Mindy Sallstrom (West Bountiful, Utah) and Victoria Slade (Nicholasville, Ky.) to anchor the solid Knights defense.

"Not enough can be said about each scholar-athlete's dedication to our team," said Grawrock. "Their ability to come together as a team made it fun for me to watch from the sideline throughout the year."

As a provisional NCAA Division III member, Southern Virginia has accepted an invitation to join the Capital Athletic Conference effective July 1, 2013.

"We'll definitely face the toughest schedule in school history next fall," Grawrock said. "Our program is heading into a new era, and I feel this season was a good preparation for us entering the CAC next year."

This also happened over the Christmas holiday, and I just didn't get it up since then. This comes directly from our website. My Thoughts: This is a wonderful step for our program, and you can't argue with results like this in our first year as DIII provisional. Lora, as I've said before, really earned this award. She was lights out almost every game, and you could never question her effort or heart! Nice to know she'll be returning!

The association of Virginia Sports Information Directors today announced its 2012 VaSID College Division All-State Women's Soccer selections with Southern Virginia University sophomore forward Lora Palmer (Alpine, Utah) garnishing both All-State Second Team and Rookie of the Year honors.

With today's announcement, Palmer became only the third women's soccer player in program history to earn VaSID All-State Second Team honors and the first Souther Virginia scholar-athlete ever to be named a VaSID Rookie of the Year for any sport.

"It's great to have another first in our inaugural year as provisional NCAA Division III members," said sixth-year Head Coach Matt Grawrock. "Lora [Palmer] had a tremendous first season and she is absolutely deserving of this honor."

Although an academic sophomore, 2012 was Palmer's first year of collegiate soccer after transferring to Southern Virginia University from Snow College last spring.

During her rookie campaign, Palmer led the Knights in goals (15), assists (4) and total points (34). Palmer's 15 single-season goals ranks fifth all-time in Southern Virginia women's soccer history.

The speedy striker also finished with a team-leading 77.6 shot-on-goal percentage.

"Lora [Palmer] is so coachable," said Grawrock. "Despite scoring so much she always wanted to help others and create opportunities for her teammates to score."

In addition to today's VaSID recognitions, Palmer also earned both USCAA All-American and All-Academic honors last month.

VaSID names 27 all-state teams in 15 sports each year, as well as an academic all-state squad and an all-sports champion in both the university and college divisions. Membership in VaSID is open to all media relations professionals working at a university, college or conference in the state of Virginia.

2012 VaSID College Division All-State Selections

VaSID Player of the Year—Rachel Sadowski, Jr., D, Lynchburg
VaSID Rookie of the Year—Lora Palmer, So., F, Southern Virginia
VaSID Coach of the Year—Dr. Todd Olsen, Lynchburg

First Team

D—Rachel Sadowski, Jr., Lynchburg
D—Elizabeth Stump, So., Bridgewater
D—Taylor DeVoe, So., Washington and Lee
M—Dani Gunderson, Sr., Christopher Newport
M—Shelley Hoath, Sr., Lynchburg
M—Sandra Johansson, Jr., Averett
F—Angela Bosco, Jr., Lynchburg
F—Dessi Dupuy, So., Lynchburg
F—Jessica Edelman, Sr., Virginia Wesleyan
G—Audrey Moore, Sr., Lynchburg
AL—Emma O'Reilly, Jr., Christopher Newport

Second Team

D—Emma Olsson, So., Averett
D—Alexis Stahlman, Jr., Christopher Newport
D—Krista Witmer, Sr., Virginia Wesleyan
M—Cortney Pattison, So., Bluefield
M—Mathilda Hansson, So., Averett
M—Stephanie Parenteau, Sr., Roanoke
F—Pernilla Milton, Jr., Averett
F—Erin Hauser, Sr., Randolph-Macon
F—Lora Palmer, So., Southern Virginia
G—Erica Keil, Jr., Virginia Wesleyan
AL—Nicole Martinez, Jr., Virginia Wesleyan

Big News

For all of players in the class of 2014, 2015 and younger, keep an eye on this link:
svu.edu
In the next few weeks, the site will have information and registration for the first ever Girl's Soccer Camp at Southern Virginia University. When we have information we'll be sure to pass it on.

What is an Open House?

I talk about this all the time in e-mails, so maybe I should use the actual information form our admissions department to talk about a Southern Virginia University Admissions Open House.

Attend an Open House
You are invited to attend any of the upcoming open houses at Southern Virginia University. During an open house you’ll be able to meet personally with professors, university staff (admissions, financial aid, and student finances offices), coaches, Latter-day Saint Institute representatives, and army ROTC representatives.

2012-2013 Open House Dates
Register for an Open House

Open House Schedule
November 17, 2012
January 19, 2013
March 23, 2013
May 25, 2013
You and your parents can learn all about the exciting advantages of a Southern Virginia education from current students, professors and administrators. We will provide tours of campus concluding with lunch in our dining hall.

Travel Reimbursement
If you attend an open house, Southern Virginia will reimburse your travel expenses up to $250 (for prospective students only, which are classified as juniors and seniors in high school, homeschool students and college transfer students; meals are not included).

Redeem Your Travel Reimbursemet online

Please contact your admissions counselor for reimbursement details. We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity and look forward to answering any questions you have.

Schedule a Talent Audition
In the afternoon of the open house, you can meet with coaches or audition for a fine and performing arts talent grant. Download the PDF below for contact information for coaches and/or faculty members. They will be able to assist you, set up audition times and let you know what you should prepare for such an audition.

Coaches and Faculty Contact Information (PDF)

Open House Transportation
Open House Airport Shuttles
Southern Virginia University provides a shuttle to and from the Roanoke Regional Airport for our open houses. Our shuttles will run at scheduled times on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays of open house weekends, based on requests received. If there are no requests for a scheduled time, that shuttle will not run.

Team Banquet

This happened right before the Thanksgiving break, so I haven't had the chance to post it yet. Our end of the season banquet was on Nov. 14, and we gathered to celebrate some players, and to simply enjoy the opportunity to be together. The catered food for the team probably didn't hurt either!
We usually give out awards that the players vote on, and this year was no different. The following are the awards we handed out.

Most Improved Player- This award went to Brenna Schiavi. She had a fantastic attitude all season, and came to work every practice. She made a very noticeable improvement throughout the season, and I'm looking forward to her getting better. She always listened to coaches and teammates, and did her best to become better for the team. She deserved this award, and I'm grateful she got the recognition she earned.

Most Inspirational Player- Laura Schow got the award before she heads to Chile on her mission. She is always such a positive and motivational person. She makes people want to be better, and how she treats each person on the team is wonderful. We're going to miss her next year, but I know that she is going to do great things on her mission.

Most Valuable Teammate- Amber Key-Winsor won the award this year. She is that teammate that everyone values, and truly supports everyone. She brings it on the field, and then makes sure that she supports every player regardless of the time they get on the field. As a senior we're going to miss her. She has an amazing touch and vision. Maybe we can convince her to stick around and help coach the team next year.

Most Valuable Player- Scoring 15-goals, and recording 4-assists makes a choice fairly easy. But Lora Palmer wasn't a unanimous winner which is a testament to the talent and performances of our team this year. "Wheels" brought it every game. And yet she was very unselfish at times, almost to the point of being too unselfish, if that's possible. A USCAA All-American and an All-Academic team member to boot, and I don't think many can argue she hasn't had a successful first season at Southern Virginia. I think next year she'll do even better.

On a final note, kudos to Gabby and Kenzie for the individual player awards, even if you did forget Jade! A greta way to end the year. Now we worry about recruiting and getting ready for a full Capital Conference schedule next year!

A Big Post-Season Award Haul

So our season finished without post-season opportunities, but that doesn't mean we didn't get recognized for some fantastic work. The following is from our SVU website talking about the USCAA post-season awards. Lora Palmer earned every goal, and was very deserving of the honor. Jade Sorensen had a great second season, and made us so much more lethal at goal.

As far as the All-Academic team... Well, I take a special pride in recruiting smart. It is so rewarding to see that we have 10 All-Academic team members, and that no other SVU team has had that many. I believe that a key to our success as a program is the fact that we bring in hard-working girls. I'm so excited because the future of this program is bright indeed!

The United States Collegiate Athletic Association today announced its 2012 women's soccer All-American and All-Academic selections honoring ten Southern Virginia University Knights.

Lora Palmer (Alpine, Utah) headlined the Southern Virginia selections as the speedy forward earned USCAA First Team All-American honors after leading the Knights in goals (15), assists (4) and points (34) this season.

Palmer was joined on the All-American team by fellow sophomore forward Jade Sorensen (Spring, Texas), who earned Second Team honors after netting 9 goals and dishing out 3 assists for 21 total points—second-most of any Knight behind only Palmer.

Palmer and Sorensen also earned USCAA All-Academic honors, along with eight other Southern Virginia players—Jackie Barlow (Fruit Heights, Utah), Meghan Blackham (Las Vegas, Nev.), Randi Jones (Temonton, Utah), Britney Jones-Porter (Spanish Fork, Utah), Amber Key-Winsor (Flower Mound, Texas), Bryndel Kindred-Lytle (Tremonton, Utah), Makenzie Lundquist (Alpine, Utah) and Laura Schow (Plymouth, Utah).

Women's soccer's ten All-Academic selections is the most of any single team in Southern Virginia history.

End of the Season
It's taken me a little while longer to get this up. Now that I have all this free time, I'm not spending it wisely.
So we had our final game on 10/31. Hurricane Sandy had forced Bluefield to cancel the game two days earlier, and this was what we could get to play. Halloween!
We were really excited as we had custom shirts made for the game, as you can see in the picture. Meghann and Alicia Blackham's dad, Chad, has been battling colon cancer for a couple of years. He's been a super fan for the program, and has been generous to the program. This allowed us to get these shirts, and customize them. For the game we weren't just SVU, but we were also Team Blackham. The girls would write people they knew affected by this disease, and we had a rallying cry for the game.
The game got going, and we were tentative. Might have been the cold, the awareness game, or any number of factors, but we didn't start the way I'd like. Slowly but surely we worked our way into the game. It was back and forth for the entirety of the game.
We had opportunities for shots, Jade Sorensen, had a one-on-one that didn't get converted, but we were granting some opportunities to the opponent.
0-0 at halftime. We went back out and made the most of it. Some more opportunities came our way, but nothing was going in. Kenzie Lundquist was busy in the net, but she wasn't going to get scored on today.
After two full halves, nothing separated us, and we went to OT. Same thing in OT. Except, Kenzie got her bell rung, and had to come out. This was with about 6 minutes left. Autum Bronson was put under a lot of pressure to keep the status quo, and she did phenomenally. There was a break away close to the end, and Autum did her best to save it and push it away from goal. Whistle blew, and we ended the game tied. It was a little frustrating to end the season that way, but at least it wasn't a loss, and we didn't end up with a losing season.
I'm really proud of the team and the season we had. Every coach wants to have more wins, but we rebounded from a frustrating 2011, and we also prepped ourselves for conference play, and almost an entirely DIII composed schedule next year. I'll miss the seniors, and those who move on, but I'm so grateful for the chance to have had this team this year. I'm looking forward to the Spring, and the recruiting trail to help us get better for next year.