Throughout the 2018-19 academic year, the Great Lakes Valley Conference is celebrating its 40th anniversary by recognizing 40 teams that made a significant impact both on campus and at the Conference level.
40 TEAMS l 40 YEARS
WEEK 5: 1996 Saint Joseph’s College Women’s Soccer
SEASON SUMMARY
The 1996 Saint Joseph’s College women’s soccer team finished the season 23-2-1 overall and was a perfect 9-0-0 in league play. As the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Championship Tournament, which was hosted at Saint Joseph’s, the Pumas blanked No. 8 seed Southern Indiana 4-0 in the quarterfinals, shut out No. 5 Indianapolis 2-0 in the semifinal, and kept No. 3 Missouri-St. Louis off the board with a 3-0 victory to win their first-ever GLVC Championship. Led by seven All-Conference performers, Saint Joseph’s advanced to the NCAA Tournament to face fellow GLVC member SIU Edwardsville in the opening round. The Pumas scored a 2-1 victory in that contest and another 2-1 result in the national quarterfinals against Bloomsburg. Their season came to an end in the national semifinals in a 2-0 setback to Franklin Pierce.
IMPRESSIVE INDIVIDUALS
Rebekah Breech
- NSCAA All-America First Team
- All-GLVC First Team
- Academic All-GLVC
Denise Hutchinson
- NSCAA All-America First Team
- All-GLVC First Team
- Academic All-GLVC
Mary Reid
- NSCAA All-America Second Team
- All-GLVC Second Team
- Named to All-GLVC First Team in 1995
Jennifer Benedetti
- All-GLVC First Team
- Academic All-GLVC
- Named to All-GLVC First Team in 1997, 1998 and 1999
Mary Beckemeier
- All-GLVC First Team
- Academic All-GLVC
- Named to All-GLVC Second Team in 1995
Carrie Zolper
Jessica Beckemeier
- All-GLVC Second Team
- Academic All-GLVC
- Named to All-GLVC Second Team in 1995 and First Team in 1997
Mike Minelli, Head Coach
- Earned his first of two straight GLVC Coach of the Year awards
LASTING LEGACY
The 1996 Saint Joseph’s team continues to leave its mark in GLVC women’s soccer history. At 9-0-0 in GLVC action, the Pumas remain one of just three teams in Conference history to post a perfect league record, and are one of just five teams to win 90 percent or more of their schedule with a season record of 23-2-1 (.904). When Saint Joseph’s advanced to the 1996 GLVC Championship Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed, it became the first of seven teams to not allow a single goal en route to the Conference crown. In fact, the Pumas’ combined score of 9-0 over the three games is the second-highest offensive output in GLVC Championship Tournament history, behind Northern Kentucky’s 13-0 production in 2001. The success of the 1996 club carried through to the 1997 season as the Pumas repeated as GLVC Champions and earned their second and final NCAA Championship appearance in program history. Saint Joseph’s was the first school to win back-to-back GLVC titles – a feat that has only been accomplished by four other institutions, including McKendree in 2016 and 2017.