2016 Marquette Women’s Soccer Season Preview: The Newcomers

We already talked about the returning players to the Marquette women’s soccer roster on Sunday. There were a lot of women to talk about, including five true seniors, a redshirt junior, and two redshirt juniors who will conclude their collegiate careers at the end of the season.

That’s a long way of explaining that there are just seven true freshmen on the roster this season. With the kind of depth that head coach Markus Roeders has amongst his returners, the freshmen are going to have to either A) really show something off the jump or B) fill some sort of specific need on the roster in order to get on the pitch. The first freshman that we’ll talk about here checks the box in both of those categories.....

Maddy Henry

#0 - Goalkeeper - 5’8" - Omaha, NE

It seems that Henry will continue Markus Roeders’ tradition of going with a freshman keeper and sticking with her for the next four years. He did that with Laura Boyer from 2004-07, then moved to Natalie Kulla from 2008-11, and then Amanda Engel just wrapped up a four year tour in MU’s net. Henry got the starting nod for Marquette’s exhibition loss to Wisconsin last Thursday, and since Roeders gave her the full 90 minutes, it’s clear that this isn’t a contest between her and sophomore Sloane Carlson.

Henry gave up goals in the 3rd and 29th minutes, but made nine saves along the way to keep it at a two goal margin. That’s kind of a bad news/good news/bad news situation. Bad news: allowed two early goals. Good news: Made lots of saves! Bad news: Henry was put in a situation where she had to make a lot of saves.

It’s debatable as to how much of those nine shots that got to Henry are her responsibility. How much of the responsibility for shutting down Wisconsin do you pin on the freshman keeper and how much do you pin on the two seniors (Erin Holland & Morgan Proffitt) and a junior (Madison Dunker) making up the defense in front of her? How much of Wisconsin’s offense was stemming from Allison Jacobson and Leah Celarek moving to defense for this game?

Henry comes in as a fairly well decorated and accomplished netminder. She won a Nebraska state title with Millard North High School in 2013, and followed that up with a runner-up appearance in 2014. She posted 14 shutouts that year, the most in Nebraska Class A. Henry played club soccer for Omaha FC and won state titles every year since 2012. I can see why Markus Roeders might be comfortable with Henry stepping in as a freshman, even though at 5’8", she’s shorter than MU’s keepers have been in the past.

Emily Hess

#2 - Defender/Midfielder - 5’4" - Batavia, IL

Only two freshmen saw action in the exhibition loss to Wisconsin, and Hess was the rookie that joined Maddy Henry on the pitch. Without having seen the match and without a detailed box score, it’s hard to make a definitive statement about where she fits in within Marquette’s structure on the field, but it’s clear at this point that she has already earned at least a little bit of trust and respect from the coaching staff.

While Hess attended Batavia High School, she only played club soccer. She won ECNL National Championships in 2013 and 2014 with Eclipse Select SC and was on the roster for two Illinois State Cup Championships in 2013 and 2015. Hess spent some time with the Illinois Olympic Development Program team, which made it to the 2014 National Championship. She was named to the Best XI out of that tournament, and while some of that had to be dependent on the team around her to get that far, it’s still noteworthy that she earned the recognition for her contributions.

*     *     *     *     *

That wraps up the part of the program where we point out the players that earned playing time in the exhibition. There’s still five more freshmen on the roster, three of whom had earned regional recruiting rankings for the Class of 2016.

Abby Hess

#22 - Forward - 5’10" - Rochester, MN

I can’t tell you for certain that Abby Hess is wearing #22 because she was Top Drawer Soccer’s #22 recruit in the Great Lakes region, but we can always pretend that’s the case. Hess’ Mayo High School team went unbeaten and untied in her junior AND senior seasons, amassing a record of 22-0-0. She scored 14 goals and 11 assists as a senior while the Spartans outscored their foes 73-5 and didn’t allow a goal during their conference schedule. Hess also won a State Cup Championship with her club team in 2014-15 and was a part of the Minnesota Olympic Development Program team from 2010-14.

I know you’re wondering at this point, but no, the two freshmen Hess women are not sisters.

Josie Fowler

#10 - Midfielder - 5’4" - Perrysburg, OH

A three year soccer letter winner at Perrysburg High, Fowler comes to Marquette as the #26 ranked recruit in the Top Drawer Soccer Great Lakes regional rankings. Fowler won a state title as a freshman, as the Yellow Jackets went 23-0-0 that season. They were nearly perfect during Fowler’s senior season, going 18-1-1. Fowler was named first team all-league, all-district, and all-state as a senior, and her Perrysburg teams won the district title in each of the three seasons that she played high school soccer.

Maura Weaver

#28 - Defender - 5’8" - Broadview Heights, OH

Maura Weaver has high school, club, and Olympic Development Program experience coming out of her ears. Think about this: Not only was she team captain at Brecksville-Broadview Heights HS her senior year, she was named team MVP. As a defender. She was a two-time all-conference selection and a three time Greater Cleveland All-District team honoree during her four years on the varsity soccer team, which raises an important question: What were the all-conference voters looking at in that third season? Weaver participated in the Olympic Development Program on the regional level, including a trip to Costa Rica with the Region II team in 2015. She played her club soccer for Internationals SC, where she won a U13 Super Y divisional title and a U14 Super Y national title. Her U16 and U17 teams made it to the ECNL semifinals, too. To top all of that off, she was ranked #28 in the Great Lakes Region by Top Drawer Soccer, and oh, by the way, she’s going to study biomedical engineering.

I’m going to need a rest break after all of that. Bourbon, anyone?

*     *     *     *     *

Two more freshmen to get to before we wrap up.....

Erin Johnston

#3 - Midfielder/Forward - 5’4" - Grayslake, IL

While the Hesses on the roster are not sisters, the Johnstons are. Erin is the younger sister of Meegan, who is a senior midfielder this season.

Erin won four varsity letters with Carmel Catholic HS and was captain of the team for two years as well. Carmel won the Illinois 2A state title in Johnston’s junior year when she knocked home the only goal of the championship match in the 78th minute.

Mary Kate Simon

#5 - Defender - 5’10" - Thiensville, WI

Simon elected to only play club soccer during her high school years, playing with FC Wisconsin Eclipse. They made appearances in the North American Cup in 2012-13 and 2014-15, and Simon was a part of the Player Development Program for Madison US Club Soccer. She did play basketball and track at Homestead HS, finishing as a top five scorer in their league her sophomore basketball season and setting school top 10 marks in the 200 meters, 400 meters, and the long jump.