The 2007 Carthage College women’s soccer team (16-5-1) went where no Lady Reds soccer team had gone before—to the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship. Coached by Susie Foster (38-16-6, 3 years), the Lady Reds finished second to Wheaton College (Ill.) in the regular-season College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin standings with a 5-1-1 mark. Carthage defeated Augustana College (Ill.), 3-0, in the semifinals of the CCIW Women’s Soccer Tournament before losing to Wheaton (Ill.), 3-0, in the championship game.
The Lady Reds received an at-large berth in the NCAA championship and were shipped to Wisconsin-Eau Claire for first and second-round games. Carthage defeated Concordia College (Moorhead), 2-1, in first-round action. The Cobbers had a 1-0 halftime lead behind a goal by Sam Johnson at 31:14, before Carthage tied the game in the second period with a goal by Debbie Kozlowski at 63:59. Jackie Peterson scored the game-winning goal for the Lady Reds at 75:40.
In the following day’s second-round contest, Carthage lost to Wartburg College, 2-1 in overtime. The Lady Reds took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by Keeley Monckton at 22:13. Three and one-half minutes later, the Knights knotted the game with a goal by Jamie Frederick at 25:58. Following a scoreless second half, Wartburg won the game in overtime when Logan Webb scored her first goal of year at 98:13 on a corner kick from Lauren Thomas. “Receiving the NCAA berth was a great moment,” said coach Foster, “a defining moment in the program’s history. Anytime you do something for the first time in an athletic program, it’s special. We set that as a goal at the end of the 2006 season, and we worked hard for it. I was very proud of the 2007 team.”
The Lady Reds opened the season by playing host to the Carthage “Battle on the Border” at Art Keller Field. Carthage defeated both Viterbo College and Buena Vista University in that event. The Lady Reds went 6-2 over their next eight non-conference games, including two games in the Boston-area in early-September. Carthage won its first five conference games over Augustana College (Ill.), North Central College, North Park University, Elmhurst College and Millikin University before losing to Wheaton (Ill.) on Oct. 24. The Lady Reds concluded their regular-season conference-schedule with a 0-0 tie at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Six members of the Carthage team were named All-CCIW, including two to the first team. The first-team honorees were forward Jackie Peterson (Jr., Schaumburg, Ill., 17 goals, 5 assists) and defender Paige Land (Jr., Barrington, Ill., 4 goals, 2 assists). Midfielder Kelly Baumgartner (Jr., Oswego, Ill., 8 goals, 2 assists), midfielder Keeley Monckton (Sr., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South, 5 goals, 1 assist), defender Ashleigh Johnson (So., Kenosha, Wis./Tremper, 2 goals, 5 assists) and goal keeper Lindsey Bollman (Jr, Greendale, Wis./Martin Luther, 0.97 goals-against average, 7.8 shutouts, 80 saves) earned second-team All-CCIW honors.