Women’s Soccer

Tiger women’s soccer adds two names to 2012 roster

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University women’s soccer team added two new names to its 2012 roster Tuesday afternoon, but one is already a familiar face for the Tiger women’s soccer program.

Ashley Burkman, a freshman from Brandon, S.D., will join the team for the first time this fall, and Sarah Duff will return for one more season with the team after a two-year hiatus from soccer. The duo makes four new additions for head coach Dale Roden for the 2012 season.

Burkman went to Brandon Valley High School and played five years of club soccer with the DASC Xtreme Club Soccer Team. The 5-foot-5 defender lettered for the Lynx, and was named the team MVP in 2011. She will help add depth and talent to the Tigers’ backfield, which loses several key players to graduation. Burkman plans to major in athletic training at Dakota Wesleyan.

“We are very excited to have Ashley become part of our program. She is an outstanding student-athlete, and we anticipate her making an impact in our defensive stand right away,” Roden said. “She fits great into what we are looking for from this recruiting class. She has a history of playing a strong defensive role, and she has the potential to accomplish some amazing things throughout her college career.

“Ashley will provide us with a number of options this fall. We might consider playing different formations, and we might approach the game differently this fall to due the fact that our athletes will have different strengths.”

Duff returns to the Tiger soccer program after two years off. She graduated from Dakota Wesleyan in 2010 after play two seasons with the Tiger women’s soccer team, and is returning for her master’s degree with one year of eligibility remaining. Duff is a midfielder who, as a senior in 2009, recorded six assists and 25 shots, including 18 on goal. She was a team captain in 2009 when DWU went undefeated, won the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship and made its first trip to the NAIA National Tournament.

“It is a huge gift to have Sarah back for her final year of eligibility,” Roden said. “She brings so much confidence and experience to our team. Having her on the field will be like having an assistant coach in uniform in many ways. As well as being a tremendous boost to our program on game day, she really has the ability to make everyone around her better and guide the younger players in times of adversity on and off the field.”

Burkman and Duff join midfielder/defender Allison Blow and defender Maranda Ehrenfried – both Pierre, S.D., natives – as Roden’s four recruits for 2012. The Tigers went 7-6-3 in 2011 and lose six players to graduation. All but one of those players played in the backfield for the Tigers, including All-GPAC selections Sarah Weidler, Kayla and Skye Pahl and Kasha Roberts.

“With graduating such a large class of contributing players last year, these (new recruits) provide use with the opportunity to reinvent ourselves; we might have a completely different look this fall,” Roden said. “We are very excited to see what works best for us. We plan on making this fall a very special time.”