cover photo belongs to Charlie DeBoyace at The Diamondback
We had one for the gentlemen last month and now that the season has kicked off for the women, we have a little clearer picture of who slots where. Admittedly, not all of these goalkeepers were easy to find video on so some of them are rough estimates. Hopefully we can revisit at the end of the season with more accuracy.
Seniors
1. Rachelle Beanlands (Maryland) 22.3
2. Bryane Heaberlin (North Carolina) 21.8
3. Abby Smith (Texas) 21.9
4. Michelle Craft (San Diego) 21.3
5. Britt Eckerstrom (Penn State) 22.3
6. Brittany Brown (Florida Gulf Coast) 21.7
7. Kathryn Scheele (Colorado) 21.1
8. Madalyn Schiffel (San Francisco) 21.7
9. Alyssa Giannetti (Cal Poly) 20.9
10. Shauni Kerkhoff (Temple) 21.7
Top of the stack and Canadian youth international Rachelle Beanlands returns to Maryland after a strong 2014 season as a Player to Watch in the Big Ten. Abby Smith, who recently scored her third career goal for Texas, and Bryane Heaberlin have a very high chance of being drafted next NWSL draft, unless they pursue elsewhere overseas. Britt Eckerstrom was recently named the W-League goalkeeper of the year and Kathryn Scheele did well with the Sounders this summer.
Juniors
1. Jane Campbell (Stanford) 20.6
2. Sammy Jo Prudhomme (USC) 21.6
3. Lizzie Durack (Harvard) 21.3
4. Kailen Sheridan (Clemson) 20.2
5. Hannah Seabert (Pepperdine) 20.7
6. Holly Van Noord (Liberty) 21.1
7. Tarah Hobbs (Minnesota) 20.3
8. Morgan Stearns (Virginia) 20.7
9. Lindsey Harris (North Carolina) 21.8
10. Andi Tostanoski (Santa Clara) 21.1
Jane Campbell was put on the Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch List so it's safe to say we could tag her with "decent, at least". Sammy Jo Prudhomme sat out last year after transferring out of Oregon State but is now starting at USC. Lizzie Durack has already proved herself worthy with Everton and has been in the England YNT program. Holly Van Noord and Andi Tostanoski are frontrunners in the "most athletic" category.
Sophomores
1. Megan Hinz (Michigan) 19.8
2. Nevena Stojokovic (Florida International) 20.5
3. Cassie Miller (Florida State) 20.4
4. Emily Boyd (California) 19.2
5. Laura Dougall (Buffalo) 19.2
6. Kaylyn Smith (Virginia Tech) 19.7
7. Erika Yohn (Purdue) 19.7
8. Lexi Nicholas (Notre Dame) 19.6
9. Lindsay Preston (Wake Forest) 19.5
10. Cassidy Babin (Massachusetts) 18.9
Megan Hinz bucks the trend of not playing for a USYNT. Regardless, Michigan will be relying on her heavily once again this year. Internationals Nevena Stojokovic (Serbia) and Laura Dougall (Canada) follow closely behind while Purdue starter Erika Yohn has already submitted her save for Save of the Year consideration.
Freshmen
1. Caroline Brockmeier (Florida State) 19.1
2. Amanda Poertner (Idaho) 18.8
3. Rose Chandler (Penn State) 19
4. Sarah Le Beau (Auburn) 19.7
5. Erin Scott (Creighton) 18.3
6. Kelsey Dossey (Missouri) 19.2
7. Alyssa Palacios (UTEP) 18.8
8. Julia Schneider (Massachusetts-Lowell) 19
9. Olivia Swenson (North Dakota) 18.7
10. Samantha Leshnak (North Carolina) 18.4
It's no surprise that North Carolina has multiple goalkeepers on this list. Samantha Leshnak, like Caroline Brockmeier and Rose Chandler, likely won't see much playing time with established veterans starting over them but keep an eye down the road for them. Some notable performances from the young bunch include Amanda Poertner versus Washington State and Erin Scott's outing against Central Michigan, which earned her Big East Rookie of the Week honors.