J term Place #4

As our trip came to a close, so did our short careers playing abroad. On day 12 of our adventures through France, we traveled to Nice where we were scheduled to play our last game against the one and only, AS Monaco. Yes, you read that right, AS Monaco! After dropping the men off for their last game, we were set to travel to ours. Within about 10 minutes of us driving we suddenly felt our bus twisting and turning as we started to scale up a mountain. Is their field really on top of a mountain? As we peered out the window, we climbed higher and higher.  Sure enough, 5 minutes later, we saw the lights. Their field was hidden, surrounded by trees, on top of a mountain! Although it was dark, as we pulled up to the field we could see the array of lights coming from the town below. We were again greeted by gracious hosts who set us up with a locker room and showed us to the field.

After mingling and learning some of the french lingo, we were set to play our last match of the trip.  

It was an intense and exciting game as we battled against a very talented team. We ended up ending in a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes and we were very happy with the outcome. AS Monaco was a fast paced team that allowed us to play our Gustie tempo and have a great last game abroad!

For our last tourist destinations, we were still staying in Nice and we traveled to the city of Antibes, Monaco, and Monte Carlo. As we took in the last beautiful sites we also took our last tours around the cities. Along our stay in France we had many different local tour guides who took us around and showed us all of the prominent sites. Everyone was so welcoming and knowledgable and we were very lucky to have them to show us their beautiful cities. Monaco and Monte Carlo were home to some of the prettiest, most colorful, buildings we had seen throughout our stay in Europe. As we walked along the streets we tried to take just how astounding everything was and come to the realization that we were going to have to leave in just two short days.


Three games, a plethora of cities, and a fair amount of bread later, we were off to take the Hogwarts train back to Paris where we were catching our flight back to Minnesota. It was a bitter sweet end to our time abroad but the memories that we made were unforgettable. Being able to travel with all of our bestfriends and learn a lot along the way, this trip was a 10/10, I would definetly recommend.

The Best Around: Gustie Soccer Camps

We are excited to be hosting two different residential camps this summer:  Gustie Co-Ed Youth Soccer Camp, ages 8-17, June 25-28th, 2017 and a high level High School Girls Camp, grades 9-12 (entering in Fall 2017), July 9-12th, 2017. 

CO-ED YOUTH CAMP, June 25-28th:

Our Gustie Soccer Co-Ed Youth Camp is a positive resource for soccer players of Minnesota. All campers will receive quality instruction, experience a positive learning environment and have fun during the week. Each session focuses on individual skill training, in the context of team play, progressing from drills to small-sided games. We encourage players from various backgrounds and abilities to attend as we always strive to keep camp numbers smaller to allow for individual attention and coaching from our qualified staff.  

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS CAMP, July 9-12th:

The Gustavus High School Girls Soccer Camp challenges high school players to take their skills to the next level through advanced player development and exposure to NCAA collegiate coaching. We focus on the individual player, in the context of team play, emphasizing possession, speed of play, technical development and improvement of tactical understanding. Through quality position based coaching, college level sessions and evening matches utilizing different formations participants will be prepared to succeed at the next level, whether that be C1 or Premier club, high school varsity or college.  We also have daily presentations focused on maximizing exposure in the recruiting process, optimal performance in strength and conditioning and injury prevention.  

NEW THIS YEAR: For both camps, campers will not only be exposed to different topics and advanced levels of coaching, but they will also be exposed to different philosophies of training, such as the French and Dutch methodologies! 

Registration: 

More information can be found at GACsoccercamps.com, including online registration (note there is a non-refundable credit card fee if you pay online). If you would like to pay by check by mailing in your registration, please send us an email so we can send along our camp brochures, lburnett@gustavus.edu. 

#WhyGustavus Series: The Hill Crew App

What sets Gustavus apart from other colleges is our community.  We have one of the most supportive communities in the entire country: fueled by our passion for Gustavus and mission to help everyone reach their max potential.  The Hill Crew is HUGE contributor to our exceptional community.  

The Hill Crew is a fan inventive program for all students and faculty at Gustavus Adolphus College. The mission of the program is to unite the student body to support Gustavus Athletic Teams and create an athletic atmosphere that is second-to-none in the NCAA.  We've experienced the support at our soccer games, both at home and on the road, and we are also huge participators in the Hill Crew. Fueled by the Hill Crew, it's easy to say we have the best fans in the MIAC.  Don't believe us? Check out the picture below from the Volleyball MIAC Championships:

Even better than just having the Hill Crew? Now we have a Hill Crew App to enhance our fan engagement.  This sets us apart. This makes us special.  This is the Gustavus Community.

Gustavus Launches “The Hill Crew” App To Enhance Fan Engagement

ST. PETER, Minn. – The fan experience at Gustavus Adolphus College events has received a digital enhancement. The College recently launched a new mobile app, “The Hill Crew,” that allows fans to earn points based on events and activities they attend and check in to. The points can then be used to earn prizes and exclusive experiences from the College.

The app provides other information for fans including athletic team schedules, school news, and an opportunity to share photos through a “fan cam.” There’s a leaderboard to fuel some friendly competition amongst fans as well as a social media module so users can stay up to date with everything going on around campus. The Hill Crew can be downloaded for free at either the Apple iTunes or Google Play online stores.

“We are really excited about launching this new app with our students, fans, and followers,” said Kari Eckheart, Assistant Athletics Director & Senior Women’s Administrator. “It allows us to engage and activate our fans even further at games and events throughout the year. And the best part is that it rewards fans for supporting Gustavus Adolphus College.”

SuperFanU created the app and is a leader in developing innovative platforms that allow the communication and marketing between fans and schools to be more engaging and efficient.

“We know that our partnership with Gustavus Adolphus College will yield lots of excitement this year,” said Kayla Mount, Co-Founder and COO of SuperFan. “The fan experience is so important to engaging students, alumni, and fans, so we look forward to great collaboration with lots of fun outcomes in the near future.”

Fans can download The Hill Crew app by clicking on either one of the following links:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gustavus-hill-crew/id1181465733?ls=1&mt=8

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.superfanu.gustavus

TOP FIVE GOALS: 2016 Season

For the second year in a row, our players voted on our top goals from the 2016 season. We had many to choose from, 32 in fact, so to be on this short list means these goals are pretty special. Here are some other fun facts about our goal scoring this year: 

- Did you know we had 15 different players score in the 2016 season? Tied for the most (15 in 2009, 2000) since 1998 when 16 different players scored.

- Did you know Maggie Leininger scored the first freshman goal this season vs. Crown? Here are the first freshman goals over the last five years:

2016 - Maggie Leininger vs. Crown College

2015 - Chase Miller vs. St. Thomas 

2014 - Molly Johnston vs. Crown College 

2013 - Maddison Ackiss vs. UW Stout 

2012 - Brittany Chase vs. Martin Luther

- The team scored 32 goals with 28 assists. Those assists came from 13 different players. That's fantastic team play! 

- Senior Maddison Ackiss wrote herself into the record books: 

6th for Career Goals with 36 

7th for Career Points with 83 (36g, 11a)

2013 - 8g, 3a; 2014 - 10g, 2a; 2015 - 9g, 2a; 2016 - 9g, 4a

So here we go, take a look at our top five goals from the 2016 season: 

Honorable Mention: our first HM goal from the 2016 season is Senior Maddison Ackiss's second goal vs. St. Mary's. And yes, that's an assist from Sophomore Ashley Becker! First career point? Excellent. Make sure to watch Maddi take off and cover ground to get on the end of this punt.

Honorable Mention: our second HM goal from the 2016 goes to this goal vs. Eau Claire where Junior Hannah Sturtz plays a cheeky pass to Sophomore Emily Skogseth, who beats her defender and then blasts this dirty shot far post, side netting from outside the 18. Guarantee you can't just watch this goal once.

#5: Goal of the 2016 Season: Here's the scenario, we knew we needed to make a big push to qualify for the conference tournament... big push meaning we needed to win 4 of the last 5 conference games. Heading into the St. Kate's, we had won our previous two and were riding the momentum. We were up 3-2 and looking for a buffer goal to put the game away.

Who else than Junior Hannah Sturtz to make that happen? We moved the ball up the field with Sophomore Emily Skogseth finding Hannah into space. As the keeper approached she calmly placed the ball high and near post.

#4: Goal of the 2016 Season: Sophomore Chase Miller crushes a free kick from half field, ball takes one bounce inside the 18 before hitting the back of the net. The best part? Game was tied 0-0 before this goal in the 87th minute. Talk about clutch.

T-#3: Goal of the 2016 season is Junior Sophie Leininger's second vs. Concordia for senior day. Only 12 minutes after she scored her first goal of the season, Sophie powered this left footed shot into the side netting on the far post to double our lead (as well as her # of career goals). Nice feed from Sophomore Emily Skogseth... her being involved in great goals is starting to become a trend here...

 

T-#3: The other #3 goal of the 2016 season actually came in the same game. Who could have written a better script than to have Senior Maddison Ackiss score a fantastic left footed bomb from 28 yards out, straight to the top corner in her Senior Game? After writing herself into the record books during her career, she deserved every bit of this fantastic goal.

        

#2: Goal of the 2016 season goes to Grace Brustad in the waning minute against Macalester. First career goal and an excellent one at that. Shout out to Emily Skogseth beating five Macalester defenders before finding Grace in the slot. Great assist, great finish -- no wonder this goal was voted #2!

 


And now.... 

our top goal... 

of the... 

2016 Season... 

goes to... 

#1: Our top goal of 2016 goes to Chase Miller's goal to put us up 1-0 vs. St. Kate's in the playoff quarterfinals. Chase destroys this ball one time. Jaw dropping. And then just turns around like it was no big deal.

      

P.S. These are all on Facebook where you can watch them in HD if you follow the instructions.  Check it out and give it a LIKE: https://www.facebook.com/GACWomensSoccer/