By Steve Shaff
NAU Media Relations
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Three seniors, three different recruiting classes. They may not have come in together, but on Friday they will all end their NAU careers together as seniors. Georgia Foltz, Laura Johnson and Jessica Kettelkamp will play their final games as Lumberjacks when the Northern Arizona soccer team wraps up its season against CSU Bakersfield.
The Senior Night match will be televised live on FOX Sports Arizona beginning at 6 p.m.
“The three seniors didn’t come in at the same time, so all three of them represent a different type of individual and player coming into the program,” said head coach Andre Luciano. “They’ve had a tough go with the young team we’ve had this year, but they’ve been very positive and good role models. They’ve been emotional about our past successes, and I’m just sad that they weren’t able to get a last conference championship.”
At the head of this year’s senior class is Foltz, who served as this year’s team captain. Foltz, a member of the 2008 class, elected to come back for a fifth season after suffering a season-ending leg injury in the second game of the 2011 season. She’s the only player to start all 18 games this season and has played all 1,720 minutes on the NAU backline. Since assuming a starter's role midway through her freshman season in 2008, she’s been a key part of the NAU soccer program, which won three Big Sky Championships from 2008-10. She was a part of the defense that broke school and Big Sky records with a six-game shutout streak that spanned 569:02 minutes in 2010, and she will finish her career tied for second in matches played in school history with 79 and tied for fourth in matches started with 73.
“I’ll never regret coming back for a fifth year, and I would do it again if I could,” Foltz said. “There were a lot of ups early and that was just playing for the girls that were ahead of me and laying my heart out for them. Towards the end, there were downs but I was able to be a part of the younger players’ growth. We didn’t get what we wanted, but we did it together and we know we tried hard and gave it our all. They learned a valuable lesson and I got to be a part of that and I couldn’t ask for more. They’re a great group of girls and I’m so proud of all of them.”
Johnson is the lone remaining member of the 2009 class and has spent the last four seasons playing in 47 career games -- nine career starts -- entering Friday’s game in the Lumberjacks' midfield. As a freshman, she led all NAU freshmen in games played, shots and minutes played. A member of the Lumberjacks’ championship teams in 2009 and 2010, Johnson scored her first career goal on the road against Big Ten power Nebraska in 2011. This season, Johnson has recorded career highs in games played, starts and shots.
“There’s going to be a lot of emotions going on,” Johnson said. “I’ll be sad, happy; I don’t know how I’m going to feel. I’ve played soccer for 16 years, and Friday will be my last game. Soccer has been my passion, and for it to come to an end, it’ll be hard.”
Kettelkamp transferred to NAU in 2010 after a stellar freshman year at Paradise Valley Community College, where she helped the team finish third in the nation. After redshirting her first year in Flagstaff, Kettelkamp has provided depth in both the NAU midfield and defensive backline, having played in nine games with two starts over the last two seasons.
“Obviously it’s going to be emotional, but putting on the NAU jersey for the last time will make me remember what it took to get here, how far this program has come and how we’re leaving it,” Kettelkamp said. “I feel confident that although this season wasn’t how we wanted it, when the game is over, we’re leaving the program in a good place with the players on the team and the team chemistry.”
The Lumberjacks will host a CSU Bakersfield squad that is 5-10-2 this season. The Roadrunners will be playing the second game of a three-game stretch against Big Sky opponents to close out the season, having lost to Portland State 2-0 at home on Wednesday and with a road match at Southern Utah on Sunday to follow. They also defeated this season’s Big Sky Conference tournament host, Idaho State, 5-1, earlier this season. CSU Bakersfield, a Division I independent, is led by Sam Pena, who leads the team in goals (five), assists (five), points (15) and shots (43).
NAU is 5-8-5 and is aiming to end the season with a win despite having narrowly missing out on the conference tournament for the second consecutive season. The Lumberjacks are just 1-2-3 in their last six matches and have been shut out five games during that span.
Defensively, NAU has been solid, with junior Lauren Weaver posting four of her six solo shutouts in the last six games.
“The key will be approaching this game as a very important game against a good opponent,” Luciano said. “We haven’t been as successful as we wanted to at home, so not only do we want a good sendoff for our seniors, but also leave the season on a positive note so we can build on it for the following year. We also want to give the fans of the program who have supported us something positive to cheer about."
