KENOSHA, WIS.—The Carthage College women's soccer team will open the 2016 season with a pair of games on the west coast. The Lady Reds will meet Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Thursday, September 1 at 5:00 p.m. (PT) in Claremont, Calif. Lawrence University will be second on the docket for Carthage in a neutral-site contest on Friday, September 2 at William Roland Stadium, home of California Lutheran University. Game time from Thousand Oaks, Calif. is set for 2:00 p.m. (PT).
 
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (10-7-4, 7-4-5 SCIAC 2015 record)
 
The Athenas' 2015 season ended in a 2-1 loss to California Lutheran University in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps strung six victories together from October 3 - October 17, 2015 before they closed the season with 1-3-1 record.
 
Gone from last season's roster is Darrah Shields, who paced Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in scoring with seven goals and six assists for 20 points. The Athenas return a core group of players in Katelyn Faust, Makella Brems and Remi Edwards. The three players accounted for nine goals and two assists for 20 points in 2015.
 
Senior goalkeeper Kelly McConnell saw a bulk of the starts in net for the Athenas in 2015. McConnell registered 19 starts and turned away 84 shots, good enough for an .832 save percentage and a 0.94 goals against average.
 
The Lady Reds and Athenas battled to a 1-1 tie on September 3, 2011 in the only other meeting between the schools.
 
Lawrence University (9-9, 4-6 MWC 2015 record)
 
The Vikings were on the outside-looking-in on the 2015 Midwest Conference playoff picture. Lawrence's 2015 campaign ended in a 4-0 loss to Lake Forest College, followed by a 1-0 2OT defeat to Monmouth College.
 
Despite the ups and downs, the Vikings return their leading scorer from 2015 in Ryan Berkley. The junior tallied eight goals and six assists for 22 points. Also returning for Lawrence is Casey Merkle, who notched five goals and three assists for 13 points.
 
The Vikings will look to fill the shoes left in goal from Kealey Patsy from graduation. Patsy, who is currently an assistant coach for Lawrence, started 17-of-18 games for the Vikings in 2015. Sophomore Carolyn Ford, who registered one start in 2015, is the lone returning goalkeeper with playing experience on the 2016 Viking roster.
 
The Lady Reds are 5-0 all-time against Lawrence University. Carthage defeated the Vikings 5-1 in their last meeting on September 23, 2012.

CARTHAGE (6-12-1, 3-3-1 CCIW 2015 record)
 
The Lady Reds will look to capitalize on opening day for the first time since 2013, when they registered a 4-0 victory over Centenary College. The Lady Reds return their two leading scorers from 2015 in Maggie Washelesky and Corinne Brennan, who combined for 41 points.
 
Kate Perry, who tallied five starts in 2015, represents the lone returning goalkeeper on the Lady Red roster. Anna DiTomaso, Aubrey Quick, Linnae Johnson, Alexis Malka, Taylor Sliwa, Jacey Kent, Maddie Kempf, Samantha Sisto and Emily Furmanek will be new to the Carthage women's soccer team in 2016. 
 
The Lady Reds will open the 2015 season with nine non-conference games before they begin CCIW play at North Central College on October 1.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
 
Carthage will take on University of Dubuque at Art Keller Field on Friday, September 9 before hitting the road to UW-Whitewater on Sunday, September 11 at 2:00 p.m.