The Tiger

Issue date: 8/29/08 Section: Sports

The heartbreaking loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament last fall still burns in the memories of the Clemson women's soccer team. In double overtime, the 15th ranked Tennessee Volunteers were able to score the lone goal of the game beating the Tigers 1-0. Only 12 days later, the Lady Tigers received news that their coach was leaving to accept the head coaching job at the University of Alabama.
After graduating one of the Tigers' star players, last year's goalkeeper Ashley Phillips who ranked second in career saves for Clemson, it looked like a gloomy off-season for the team. However, it turned out to be much more of an optimistic one. In mid-January, the Tigers named Hershey Strosberg the new head coach. Strosberg left the University of Virginia after seven years as the Assistant Women's Soccer Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Strosberg helped lead the Cavaliers to their first ever ACC Championship and eighth place final ranking in 2007.
Strosberg is optimistic for the season and has shown great promise in his recruiting efforts alone thus far. The Tigers pulled in seven new athletes for the 2008 team including one early enrollee.
"These seven young women bring a good combination of experience, athleticism and versatility to our team," Strosberg said about the new recruits. Strosberg has also paid tribute to assistant coach Todd Shulenberger for guiding the recruits through the coaching transition. Schulenberger was able to stay connected with recruits and keep them on board until the new staff was set.
One of the premiere recruits is Tara Cort from Wellesley, Mass., who enrolled at Clemson in the spring of 2008. Cort, a four-year varsity letter winner at Wellesley High School, was named to the Eastern Massachusetts All-Stars and as a First Team Bay-State League All-Star in 2007. Clemson's juniors and seniors also look to fill the void left from last year's graduating players along with the addition of sophomore Paula Pritzan replacing Phillips in goal this year.
The Lady Tigers have seven games in the months of August and September before they start ACC play on Sept. 25 against powerhouse North Carolina. The team is young, with only five seniors on the roster, but the more experience and victories they can gain early in the season will go a long way come the ACC championships and potentially the NCAA tournament in November.
The women started their season off last Saturday night with a 1-0 win over the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Strosberg earned his first career victory. Cort, the freshman, scored the lone goal in the 28th minute. She was assisted by junior, Molly Franklin. Pritzen earned her first career win in goal, a shutout, as she recorded two saves in the match.
The women continue their schedule with Presbyterian College on Wednesday night and North Carolina-Asheville on Sunday both with home games at historic Riggs Field.

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