Excitement high for Drury women’s soccer as seven all-conference performers highlight returners

SPRINGFIELD, Mo – Excitement for the 2024 Drury Women’s Soccer team is growing the closer we get to the opening kickoff.
 
Justin Olson enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Panthers and returns the core of his team from the 2023 season that went 12-4-3 and finished third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
 
“We have to do a great job blending our returners with our younger players to have more success,” he said.
 
The schedule for the Panthers features an 18-game regular season opening on the road against Northern State (Sept. 6), playing the match at Bemidji State in Minnesota. Drury finishes their opening road trip against their first NCAA-II Tournament team from 2023 with Bemidji State (Sept. 8). The scarlet and gray will have their home opener against Maryville (Sept. 13) in a non-conference bout between two of the top Division II teams in Missouri. Drury’s final non-conference match is on the road against Emporia State (Sept. 18), another NCAA-II Tournament team from 2023.
 
“Our strength of schedule was a priority this year and I think we did that with our non-conference schedule,” stated Olson.
 
Drury will play in 14 GLVC matches headlined by their games at McKendree (Sept. 27) and Maryville (Sept. 29). The Bearcats and Saints were the lone NCAA-II qualifiers from the conference in 2023.
 
The seven conference games at Harrison Stadium the Panthers have include their conference home opener against Missouri-St. Louis (Sept. 15), Missouri S&T (Sept. 22), Indianapolis (Oct. 4), Illinois-Springfield (Oct. 6), Truman State (Oct. 18), and Quincy (Oct. 20).
 
Coach Olson returns six of their seven All-Conference selections from last season. The Panthers lone graduate Kaitlin Knetzke, is the GLVC Goalkeeper of the Year. The six that return are Andrea Camargo, GLVC Defender of the Year, Kourtney Tucker (First Team), Tara Simon (First Team), Elsa Gonzalez (Third Team), Ines Villanueva Casal (Third Team), and Audrey Camargo (Third Team). In 2023, the six returns of all-conference honorees accounted for 58 percent of the team’s points.
 
The question going into the season is who will take net on opening day. Kaitlin Knetzke played every minute of the Panthers’ 19 games last season. There are three keepers on the roster this season and Olson said they all will have an opportunity to prove who should be the starter. Keva Culkin, Katy Fitzler, and Taylor Thompson are the three competing for the spot. 
 
Fans will get a sneak peek at the 2024 Panthers as Drury will host an exhibition game on Tue., Aug. 27, against Central Missouri, and on Thur., Aug. 29 against Pittsburg State.
 
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