As difficult as it is to move on from a runner-up placing in the conference tournament, Ursuline has turned the page and one of the most successful programs in the league’s young history is ready to contend again.
Head coach Jason Kubbins has turned the Arrows into a consistent force year in and year out. Under his guidance, the program has enjoyed six consecutive seasons with double-digit win production.
Last season was no different with 10 victories and he is just now five away from career win No. 100 at Ursuline going into his 11th season this fall.
The winning trend seems to come naturally for the Arrows, who enter this season as another premier choice to fight for the conference title and a possible NCAA Championship Midwest Regional bid.
That would be a feather in the cap for the likes of seniors Cassie Cripe, McKenzie O’Bryan and Helen Jazzar, who have emerged as impact contributors at their respective positions in the first true crop of four-year G-MAC student-athletes.
Cripe is part of the potent offensive trio that featured Paige Rowan and Vanessa Consiglio in recent history. Consiglio’s playmaking and scoring ability with a team-high 44 points (16 G, 12 A) will certainly be missed after she closed her career as arguably the most decorated student-athlete in the league with academic and athletic awards.
Rowan played her senior season in 2014 and Consiglio graduated last year, leaving Cripe to cement her legacy as one of the G-MAC’s best so far. Cripe finished with a balanced 10 goals and just as many assists to total 30 points.
O’Bryan was a double-digit point scorer with 10 (4 G, 2 A) while sophomore Aline Czaplicki had a strong freshman season with five goals and five assists.
Jazzar earned seven wins and made 68 saves as a junior. She pitched three shutouts and showed her emotional grit in the conference tournament by playing through a noticeable hand injury.
The Arrows seemed to build steam early in the fall last year but hit a bump around midseason with a five-game slide. A thrilling semifinal advancement in the conference tournament on PK’s vaulted Ursuline into the championship final.
Head Coach: Jason Kubbins (11th season)
2015 Record (Overall): 10-7-3
2015 Record (Conference): 8-4-2
2015 All-Conference Performers: Vanessa Consiglio (First Team), Cassie Cripe (First Team), Helen Jazzar (First Team), Aline Czaplicki (Second Team; All-Freshman Team), Rachel Strahorn (Second Team)
Quotable: “My defense – I wouldn’t be able to half the things I do without them. Everything that happens to me as a goalie is credited to my defense. They make me look very good. It’s my job to make sure we’re organized and constantly communicating and know what their job is. However, we focus on how we play defensively. They do just a great job and I hope we have a solid back line again.”
- Ursuline senior goalkeeper Helen Jazzar
Records Watch: Vanessa Consiglio permanently penned her name as one of the greats in women’s soccer for the present…Consiglio was the G-MAC Female Collegiate Achievement Award Winner as a senior and graduated as the conference’s career leader in assists (44)…She is second in games played with 77 and also second in points with 138 by just one to Cedarville’s Jacoby Ziegler…She averaged 0.57 points per game, also second all-time…Cassie Cripe currently is fifth in points with 74 and could very well be third all-time in league history by the end of the season…She has scored 26 goals in three seasons to rank seventh and has 22 assists to currently stand at third…Helen Jazzar ranks second in career wins with 34 tending net and has pitched 12 shutouts to rank fourth.