Jamie McIntyre
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Few student-athletes can boast they started every game of their collegiate career. Wittenberg University women's soccer standout Jaime McIntyre, class of 2007 from Columbus, Ohio, can now make that claim.
A week - and two starting assignments later - McIntyre and the Tigers finished the 2006 regular season with a sparkling 12-3-3 overall record, including a mark of 5-1-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. For the first time in school history, Wittenberg will host an NCAC Tournament game on Nov. 1, thanks to the best conference finish in the 21-year history of Tiger women's soccer.
During her freshman year in 2003, McIntyre earned second-team All-NCAC for her standout play. Although it was just Head Coach Norm Riker's second year at the helm, he knew he had something special in McIntyre long before that season.
"Jamie was my first recruit," Riker said. "From the first minute I saw her play I knew that we could do something special if she were to choose Wittenberg. She did, and look what we have accomplished in her four years! However, it is more than the wins.one can't quantify a stat for what Jamie has done for this program.
"She understood the direction this program was going to take and she wasn't afraid of the hard work needed to become successful."
McIntyre, a co-captain in 2005 and 2006, is a large part of this year's success, and the program's quick turnaround under Riker, who is in his fifth season leading the Tigers. Wittenberg has put together three straight winning seasons after an 8-10-1 record in 2003, McIntyre's first in the Red & White.
"When I was in high school, the Wittenberg soccer program wasn't great," McIntyre said. "It was right after Coach Riker's first year when he recruited me, and I had a lot of faith in Norm.
"My club team is a lot like Wittenberg. Once I got to Wittenberg my role had more importance. I am not the biggest or strongest, but I can compete with the bigger and stronger girls."
Described as a "hard worker on and off the field," McIntyre has had an exceptional individual career at Wittenberg as well, and coaches around the conference and Great Lakes Region have taken notice. McIntyre has been voted the NCAC Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Great Lakes Region each of the last two seasons as the leader of one of the top defensive units in the conference.
"Jamie exemplifies this team," Riker said. "Her hard work, selflessness, and dedication make her the player and person she is today. Her attributes are also the very same qualities that define the character of the Wittenberg women's soccer program."
Individual accolades aside, few statistics show how important defensive players like McIntyre, an education major, are to their teams. If leadership and character were statistical categories, however, McIntyre would be at the head of the class.
"Starting those 74 games is something I am proud of," McIntyre said. "Coach Riker had a huge amount of faith in me as a player and as a person to start from Day 1, and I have been fortunate enough to go through my college career without any injuries."
Written By: Ross Mahaffey '07