2019 Season Review

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The 2019 Colorado State women's soccer team created the most electrifying and successful season in program history. Since the inaugural campaign in 2013, coach Bill Hempen has built this team from the ground up, helping the Rams set multiple single-season and program records in 2019.

The list of accomplishments begins with the Rams doubling their past single-season record of six wins with a 12-5-3 finish, helping them earn their first Mountain West Tournament appearance as Hempen was awarded the MW Coach of the Year. This season, the improvement in the Rams' culture and performance came from their dominant force offensively and connections built with each other on and off the field. The culmination was the team earning a conference-high of six student-athletes with All-Mountain West recognition, and five selected on the United Coaches All-Pacific Region teams.

After competing for the regular-season conference title, the Rams entered their first tournament as the No. 3-seed, facing Fresno State for the opening match in Boise, Idaho. The team fell in penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation and two overtime periods. Although it was a quick exit in the tournament, this year was filled with individual and program records the Rams look to build upon for next season.

From the start, the Rams made it clear this year's team had set expectations and carried the tenacity to see them through, producing a list of highlights.

The Rams were 7-3-1 in the Mountain West, the most wins in conference play
They posted victories over New Mexico, Fresno State, San Jose State and UNLV for the first time
Hempen recorded the 300^th victory of his coaching career vs. SIUE
In beating Air Force, the program had notched a record seven wins in a season and still had seven regular-season games to play

Four of this year's Rams were awarded all-conference first-team honors -- sophomore transfer Gracie Armstrong, sophomore goaltender Gabi McDonald; and senior captains Halley Havlicek and Caeley Lordemann.

Throughout Armstrong's first season with the team, she started every game for the Rams and broke the program record – and subsequently, the single-year mark -- for career assists with eight. Lordemann finished this season with 11 goals and proved to be the biggest playmaker as the forward earned a MW Peak Offensive Player of the Week award and shattered nearly every offensive record in the book. In just three years at CSU, Lordemann has claimed the top spot for career goals (19), single-season goals (11), career points (44), single-season points (28) and game-winning goals (seven this season, nine all-time).

Defensively for the Rams, Havlicek finished her final season as a second-year captain and having played all four years. She broke two program records herself: career minutes played (6,647) and career starts (73). In the net, McDonald was awarded as the only goalkeeper to earn first-team recognition. She has consistently proved to be one of the top goalkeepers in the MW as she played every minute for the Rams and earned a MW Peak Defensive Player of the Week award early in the season. Totaling an impressive 104 saves to rank second in the conference, McDonald also led her team to nine shut-out wins.

Junior transfer Addie Wright earned second-team all-conference honors. In the backfield as the last line of defense with Havlicek, Wright played every minute of conference play and helped contribute to the Rams by holding opponents to just 15 goals all season.

Two Rams were also recognized on the all-newcomer team -- sophomore transfer Kristen Noonan and Armstrong made the list with their impressive offensive surge all season long. Noonan was the first player this season to earn a MW Peak Offensive Player of the Week award, while Armstrong played a key component to the team's success with three game-winning assists against SIUE, New Mexico, and Utah State.

Lordemann, the undeniable energy of the team, was coming off a record-setting junior season with the Rams. In the process of becoming a greater offensive force, she proved to be at her best in the clutch.

She had seven game-winning goals on the season, tied for fifth nationally
She started off the year with both goals in a 2-0 victory over Marquette
Netted the game winner in two overtimes vs. Grand Canyon, then backed it up with a game-winner in OT against Denver
To open conference play, she scored the lone goal in an overtime win over New Mexico
She posted another OT winner at Nevada, given the chance to do so by scoring the tying goal with 7 minutes remaining

The 2019 season will be one this team never forgets, and the bar has been set high by Hempen and the Rams as they move forward. Of the 28 players on the roster, 21 of them will be returning for the 2020 season, including a total of 15 upperclassmen. Five student-athletes signed on National Signing Day to become future Rams.

Defender Liz Deitsch is a Colorado native from Monarch High School in Boulder
Goalkeeper Amelia Hammerle comes from Texas
Defender Kenady Leighton is from Oregon
Goalkeeper Jessica Arnold is from Kansas
Midfielder Junis Anderson is coming from Sweden where she played for one of the top club teams and is looking to make an immediate impact.

The future of the Rams women's soccer team is bright, and although great players such as Lordemann and other seniors are leaving, their legacy and impact on and off the field won't be forgotten. As they look forward, they do so with plenty of experience.

Six players who appeared in all 20 game return: Armstrong, Wright, McDonald, Kaitlyn Abrams, Samantha Studt, Lauren Jones and Kendra Gipson
The roster brings back 81.8 percent of all starts in 2019 and a total of 380 career starts
Six players who accounted for 15 goals will be in the lineup, led by six tallies from Noonan
Five of them have scored game-winning goals, two from Noonan
Keyed by Armstrong's playmaking, the Rams have 15 assists on the roster

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Kaitlyn Abrams

Gracie Armstrong

Kendra Gipson

Halley Havlicek

Lauren Jones

Caeley Lordemann

Gabi McDonald

Kristen Noonan

Samantha Studt

Addie Wright

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