Alexa Rangecroft of Lawrenceville is a junior forward with the Johns Hopkins University women’s soccer team. For the seventh consecutive season, the Blue Jays will open the year ranked in the top 10. JHU checks in at No. 5 in the 2015 National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Division III Preseason Poll.
The poll marks the highest preseason ranking for Hopkins since 2012, when the Blue Jays began the season tabbed third.
The Blue Jays have early road dates with two top-10 opponents in Messiah and ninth-ranked TCNJ. The squad is set to open its season when it hosts the Blue Jay Invitational Sept. 5-6 at Homewood Field.
Rangecroft has played in 21 games and scored four goals thus far in her career at JHU.
She lettered all four years at The Lawrenceville School and was named to the Mercer 33 team her senior year. She helped the Big Red advance to the state finals and MAPL finals sophomore year.
A soccer journey from Pennington to Pfeiffer
The name and the location have changed, but the sport remains the same. Robyn Horner, neé Jones, of Charlotte, N.C., took over as women’s soccer coach at Pfeiffer University in January.
The Pennington native spent the previous two seasons as an assistant and brings a tremendous wealth of information and experience to the soccer program that she has gathered through many years as a player and a coach.
Horner played in the Women’s Professional Soccer league. The former Pennington School standout spent two years playing for the Philadelphia Independence and traveled to play in Japan as a member of the New Jersey Sky Blue organization.
Horner has also played semi-professionally for the past three seasons with the Charlotte Lady Eagles, including the past two as the team’s captain. As it has happened so often throughout her life, her teams are successful.
This past season, Horner was the finalist for the W-League Goalkeeper of the Year, and her team won the Southeastern Conference Championship and advanced to the W-League Final Four.
Horner brings seven years of coaching experience to the Falcons and had a distinguished collegiate career as a goalkeeper for Rutgers. As a freshman for the Scarlet Knights, Horner was named Rutgers Rookie of the Year, Soccerbuzz All-Region Co-Freshmen Goalkeeper of the Year and won the MVP of the Notre Dame Classic.
She began her coaching career at Franklin & Marshall University and went on to serve as the Head Goalkeeper Trainer for the Next Level Soccer Academy in Pennington. She continued to work with keepers as the Assistant Coach/Goalkeeper Coach at The College of New Jersey. During her three seasons, the Lions made three straight Division III NCAA tournament appearances, including a spot in the Final Four.
She also has coached youth soccer (CSA-North Club in Charlotte) and was the assistant coach for the women’s varsity soccer team at Southlake Christian Academy in 2013. Since 2011, she has also served as a Goalkeeper Trainer for North Carolina ODP.
Locals represented in opening soccer game
The College of New Jersey women’s soccer team kicks off its 2015 season in Lions Stadium when they host Gettysburg College Sept. 1. There are a few locals players on the rosters when the Lions take on the Bullets in a non-conference matchup.
Christine Levering of Robbinsville is a junior at TCNJ and Melissa Seidner of Hamilton is a senior at Gettysburg.
Levering played in 21 games, including six postseason contests, last year. Twice during the season she was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week and was also selected for the NJAC All-Conference First Team.
The former Robbinsville High School standout led the Lions with a career-high 16 goals with four game-winners and 41 points. She was particularly effective in the NCAA tournament as she earned a hat trick in the first round against Allegheny and scored the tying goal that led the Lions into overtime in the second round against William Smith College.
She was the 2013 NJAC Rookie of the Year having twice during the season being named the NJAC Rookie of the Week and she was NJAC Offensive Player of the Week once as she led the Lions with 11 goals, including five game-winners and 26 points.
Gettysburg will provide an early test for TCNJ as the Bullets finished with a 13-4 overall record last season and advanced to the NCAA championship tournament by earning an at-large bid.
Seidner is a very quick player and one of the team’s most dangerous scoring threats. She competed in basketball, track, and lacrosse at The Peddie School where she also was the soccer team’s leading scorer all four years. She has continued her all-star soccer career at Gettysburg.
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