The 2007-08 campaign looks to be a bounce back year for the Foresters. After struggling through the previous season, second-year head coach Nathan Sharpe believes that several concerns from a year ago have been addressed and he is expecting the team to show great improvement this fall. 

Topping Sharpe’s list of concerns was offensive output.  An immediate remedy for the Foresters is the return of Huntington University’s all-time leading scorer, Sarah Kaufman, for her senior year.  Kaufman scored 32 goals in her first two seasons as a Forester earning MCC All-Conference honors twice and NAIA All-Region honors as a sophomore.  “Sarah will obviously be a huge help for us,” stated Sharpe.  “She has proven herself time and again as a game changer. We are so glad she’s back home.”  Kaufman played her junior year for a highly successful Cornerstone University program and was the second leading scorer for the Golden Eagles. 

A second area of concern to address was getting to know his players better and the players getting more used to how he wants things to be done.  The off-season workouts gave both an opportunity for just that.  “Last year there was a lot of learning as the players were getting used to my style of coaching, said Sharpe. “In the off-season, the team really focused in on technical skills that were lacking in the fall. There was vast improvement and it showed in our off-season scrimmages,” stated Sharpe. The strides made in the off-season have left both coach and players with high expectations for the coming fall.  “After our time together in the spring, I have a much better idea where the returning players are at and I think they have an even better understanding of what I want from them. For that reason alone, we should be an improved team this fall.”   

Sharpe will look to his senior captains Hannah Kaufman, a two-time MCC All-Conference defender, and Amanda Van Rosendale, to lead by their examples on and off the field.  Sophomore Bethany McGraw, who scored 12 times for the Foresters last season, adds to the experience that returns. 

A third concern for Sharpe from last season was roster size.  A large and talented incoming class improves the overall numbers from 14 last year to 20 for the 2007-08 squad with a few having an opportunity to make an immediate impact. Defender and All-State selection Brittany Carlson (Freedom Baptist, MI) and midfielder Liz DeHaan (Northpointe Christian, MI) come from the very competitive River Valley Conference where they were rivals and now will be teammates. Also joining the Foresters is forward/midfielder Brenda Bair (Vandalia-Butler, OH), goalkeeper Emily Walker (Columbia City, IN), midfielder Sarah Wust (Huntington North), midfielder Emily Buteyn (Houghton Academy, NY), Gloria Bonilla (Honduras) and Stephanie Spitnale (Continental, OH).

“We are looking forward to seeing how this group will mesh with the returning group,” commented Sharpe. “I believe this incoming class will give us the dynamic change that we need. There is a lot of excitement from the returning players about the newcomers. We know that God brought these specific players to HU for a great purpose and I am excited to see where He takes us this season.” 

A final improvement that Coach Sharpe has implemented for the upcoming season is to increase the number of contests.  “We will have more opportunities to improve in game situations with the addition of our scrimmages at the beginning of the year,” said Sharpe. “Also, we have a full schedule of 18 matches this season instead of just 15. Our goal is to take our improvement from the practice field on to the game field. The 2007-2008 season will see us be more competitive in our conference from top to bottom.”