GREEN BAY, Wis. – After a successful 2021 campaign under interim head coach Julie Grutzner, the Green Bay women's soccer team is ready to get after it in 2022. The Phoenix completed their preseason with a 2-1 exhibition win over Parkside on Sunday, Aug. 14.
The 2021 season was one of the most succesful in recent program history. The Phoenix made a trip to the Horizon League tournament, reaching the semifinals for the first time since 2014 before losing to the eventual Horizon League champion Milwaukee. The team also had the best regular season since 2014, finishing 8-3-6 in the regular season, including a 5-0-4 record at home.
Much was accomplished during the offseason, both on and off the field. Grutzner was hired as the program's next head coach, and nine different players garnered academic recognition.
Highlights of the 2022 offseason
November 6, 2021 – Savanna Hayes and Emily Murphy get selected to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team.
December 22, 2021 – Julie Grutzner is named the 13th head coach in program history.
January 21, 2022 – Nine women's soccer student-athletes get placed on the Fall Academic Honor Roll.
May 26, 2022 – Grutzner adds 13 players to the roster, including 12 freshmen and one junior.
June 13, 2022 – Evan Connolly is named assistant coach.
June 24, 2022 – Eight women's soccer student-athletes make the Spring Academic Honor Roll.
July 11, 2022 – The complete 2022 schedule was released.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SCHEDULE
The 2022 roster features three fifth-year seniors, including midfielder McKayla Kertscher, forward Emily Murphy, and goalkeeper Annie Mason.
Last season, Kertscher led the squad with six goals. She scored a hat trick, the 11th in program history, on September 9 against Northern Illinois in a 3-1 win. Murphy wasn't far behind, notching four goals, including two in the Horizon League quarterfinal at home against Cleveland State.
Mason will look to pick up where she left off during her record-smashing fall 2021 campaign. After seeing action in just one game in the spring of 2021, the southern California native had a season to remember in the fall. Her 0.81 Goals-against average is currently puts her number one in program history for an individual career. Her seven shutouts in 2021 tied for most in a single season, sharing the top spot with Barb Singer who did the same in 1993.
Among the slew of freshmen, forward Katelyn Fishnick is a player to watch. The Sauk Prairie, Wisconsin, native was a conference champion, sectional champion, conference MVP, and made Second Team All-State in 2021. Recently, she was named WSCA 1st Team All-State. Fishnick scored two goals in the Phoenix win over Parkside.
Zoey Pagels, a freshman forward, was a team MVP at Oregon High School in southwestern Wisconsin. Her standout high school career includes being named a United Soccer Coaches High School All-American, WSCA Player of the Year in 2022, and WSCA 1st Team All-State in 2022.
Sierra Morgano will see time on the pitch as a defender. A Sussex, Wis. native, she was a three-year varsity starter at Hamilton High School. While at Hamilton, she was an All-Conference Honorable Mention her freshman year and was tabbed Second Team All-Conference her junior year. Not long ago, she became a US Youth Soccer National Champion.
The Phoenix will look to build off of their successful 2021 campaign in 2022, starting with their season opener on the road at St. Thomas on August 18 at 4 p.m. Some other dates to remember for Green Bay are August 21, when they welcome Chicago State for their home opener, and September 15, when they travel to Robert Morris for their Horizon League opener.
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