After a crushing loss to the Ashland Eagles in the GLIAC Tournament, the Bulldog soccer team had their 2015 NCAA Tournament hopes taken away.
Ferris State needed to defeat the Eagles in order to partake in the NCAA Tournament, and the team just missed the mark. Grand Valley State University is the lone GLIAC competitor to make it into the tournament.
These women have accomplished a lot over the course of their 2015 season. Bulldog soccer set a school record this year for most wins in a season with 14 while placing second in the league rankings, another school record.
The accolades do not stop there, though, as the Bulldogs set the school record for most shutouts in a season with eight. But according to senior defender Ashley Bradstreet, it takes more than just a few school records to make a team worthy of the respect that she feels the soccer program is striving for.
“We talk about being proud of what we’ve accomplished, but not satisfied,” said Bradstreet. “We raised the bar this year and the program has received recognition which will hopefully lead to some recruiting power to continue to build the program.”
Bradstreet is a 2015 All-GLIAC second team defender. Freshman defender Erica Bartlett was also awarded the GLIAC second team honor while senior forward Casey Shauman was an All-GLIAC honorable mention. Head coach Andy McCaslin is looking forward to a new season where different personalities can come out and shape the team in absence of the eight graduating seniors who will be missed.
“We’ve got a great group of kids in the program that work extremely hard, and it is an exciting time for the program going forward,” McCaslin said.
The loss to Ashland that bumped the Dawgs from NCAA Tourney contention took place at Grand Valley’s facilities after two late goals in the last five minutes of the contest propelled the Eagles past the Dawgs. McCaslin emphasized the effect his seniors had on the season.
“The seniors did a tremendous job of leaving a legacy of what we want it to look like going forward with their leadership and work rate,” McCaslin said. “Going forward, we’ll be better having had this group of seniors through that got it. They understood what it meant to be a Ferris State soccer player and have definitely left their mark.”
McCaslin was presented with GLIAC Coach of the Year honors for the outstanding season he was able to orchestrate. Bulldog senior Maddie Haustein was awarded the GLIAC Goalkeeper of the Year for creating seven shutouts and winning 13 regular season games. She made 144 saves in the net over the year.
No matter the outcome, the Ferris State women’s soccer team has put together a 2015 season worthy of praise as they look to come back with even more intensity next year.