Heitkamp, Parra Lead Lady Jacket Soccer on HCAC Watch List

GREENWOOD, Ind. – The 2012 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference preseason poll for women's soccer was announced and the Lady Jackets were notched in ninth place on the list. For the squad, two were chosen for the HCAC Watch List in senior midfielder Katie Heitkamp and junior midfielder Bibiana Parra.

Coach Alex Van der Sluijs is entering his third year at DC and is looking to improve on last year's 5-14 mark (3-6 HCAC). With the team returning nine-of-11 starters and its top five point scorers, the Lady Jackets should put up a strong showing, while possibly turning a few heads in the conference.

Heitkamp will be entering her final collegiate season at Defiance as one of two seniors on the entire squad. She will be shooting to end her career on a high note. Heitkamp has started all 51 games in her career and aims to build off her first all-conference honor from last season when she lead the team in goals (4) and points (9) to earn Second-Team All-HCAC accolades.

Parra is coming into her third campaign with the Lady Jackets soccer team. This is her first time on the HCAC Watch List, after being second on the team with three goals last season. As one of the few upperclassmen on the team, Parra will be looking to improve on her numbers from last year and lead the team to a strong season.

The Jackets are expected to return 15 lettermen from 2011. The young DC squad netted 27 points in the 2012 HCAC Women's Soccer Poll and was selected by the league head coaches to finish ahead of Anderson (11).

Hanover took six of the ten first-place votes to end with 96 points as the preseason favorite to defend its HCAC Championship. The Panthers were followed closely by Transylvania (92) and Earlham (78) in the top three.

Defiance will open the 2012 season at Winsper-Knobel Memorial Field on Friday, August 31, when it hosts Greenville in the annual Purple and Gold Classic.  The match is slated for a 1:30 p.m. start.