One of the most successful coaches in college soccer, Steve Simmons returns to Linfield for his second stint as women's head coach. He inherits a roster with experience at every position and has Linfield poised to make a run at the Northwest Conference crown.
 
NEW LEADERSHIP
 
Simmons returns to McMinnville after 15 years of coaching in Division I at Northern Illionis and Oregon State. He was the Wildcats' men's and women's soccer head coach from 1996-2000, compiling a record of 23-53-6 at the helm of the women's soccer program.
 
THE SKY IS THE LIMIT
 
The Wildcats finished the 2018 campaign with a 10-5-5 record and a 7-4-5 record in the conference, placing them fifth in the NWC standings. Simmons believes the roster has enough talent to win the NWC.
 
"Last year, the issue with the team was the number of ties. We need to convert some of those ties into wins, because we want to win the conference, and that's our expectation," he said.
 
LEAD BY EXAMPLE
 
The Wildcats return all but one starter from a season ago, led by 2018 all-conference honorees Sydney Kuehn, Michayla Sponsel and Taylor Cole.
 
"The 10 seniors have done well, but there's a lot of parity in the conference, so doing well can still lead to just fourth or fifth place. They want to improve on that and I know they want to win the conference and move on to the national tournament," said Simmons.
 
NEW AND YOUNG
 
The Wildcats welcome 14 new players to the squad, including Claire Steele, Izzy Chauls, Laney Green, Erika Olivera-Gutierrez, who have emerged through first few weeks of training camp. With the experienced starters returning for the Wildcats, Simmons does not expect many freshmen to contribute right away.
 
"It is always hard at first for the freshmen because they are taking in a lot of new information. It is still early for all the freshmen to shine right away," said Simmons.
 
SEASONED BACK FOUR
 
In 2018, the Wildcats gave up just 0.90 goals per game, fourth-lowest in the conference. Simmons believes having another season under the belt for the back-line defenders Taylor Cole, Lexi Kerr, Claire Steele and Ashley Guldager can make it possible for the goals-against average to go drop even further.
 
"For us, it's to improve upon last year's goals against, that's something that's important. We just want to control games better, that's what it all comes down to," said the coach.
 
SHIELDING THE NET
 
Madi Reimer stopped 80.5 percent of shots she faced a year ago, which was fourth-most in the conference. The Sherwood, Ore. native, begins her third season as the Wildcats' starter in the net.
 
"Madi has got a couple of years under her belt. She is a super athletic goalkeeper and a great leader," said Simmons.
 
SCORING BY COMMITTEE
 
The Wildcats returns most of their offensive firepower, including Sydney Kuehn and Amidee Colleknon, who were among the top-four goal scorers in the conference and Michayla Sponsel, who was fourth in the conference in assists.
 
"I see us sharing the load between Kristen Burke, Michayla, Sydney, Amidee, and maybe a couple of the newer players step up. If someone sticks out and ends up having a 15-goal season, that would be great, but I think it will be a team effort," said Simmons.
 
LOOK AROUND THE CONFERENCE
 
Since finishing fifth in the conference a year ago, the expectations have risen around the team and with the end goal of winning the conference.
 
The conference portion of the schedule is very demanding. The nature of the schedule having mostly Saturday-Sunday contests makes it more competitive than some of the Division I conferences. It's super unforgiving and you have to do well in that first game and at home games," said Simmons.
 
The Wildcats begin their 2019 journey on August 30 at home against Chapman. That match will be part of a doubleheader with the men's soccer team.