FERRIS STATE WOMEN’S SOCCER INKS GOALKEEPER SARAH CRUMBACK

Battle Creek Lakeview Product To Join Bulldogs For 2005 Campaign

The 5-9 Crumback, who’s currently midst her prep senior season at Battle Creek’s Lakeview High School, attained first-team All-Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference accolades as a junior in 2004 after guiding the Spartans to the league’s East Division championship. She allowed only 29 goals and tallied a school-record 147 saves as Lakeview compiled a 8-7-2 overall record last season. Crumback, who tallied five shutouts in net a year ago, currently has held the opposition scoreless four times this campaign.

“I’m excited Sarah’s decided to join our program,” Lalonde said. “She has great athleticism, coachability and character which are all important keys in leading the defense. Her athleticism and mentality will provide added strength and depth to our goalkeeping position.”

A 2004 all-district team pick, Crumback posted a .831 saves percentage and a .164 goals allowed per game figure in 17 outings last season. The all-city team honoree received the squad’s Best Defensive Player Award after guiding the Spartans to their second-straight league title under head coach Todd Wells. A two-year varsity letterwinner, Crumback also served as team co-captain on the junior varsity level during her prep career.

Crumback, who also has extensive club soccer experience, led the TKO Premier Select squad to a 7-7-1 mark in 2003 by recording 136 saves, a .834 saves percentage and seven shutouts in 15 contests. She previously earned Most Valuable Player Award honors for the B.C. United West Michigan Youth Soccer Association (WMYSA) squad and was named the Most Valuable Goalkeeper at the Michigan State Soccer Camp.

Besides soccer, Crumback also participated in volleyball at Battle Creek Lakeview where she garnered both all-region and honorable mention all-state laurels as a senior. The outside hitter led the Spartans with 247 kills, 323 digs and 80 blocks in her final campaign. An all-conference volleyball player, Crumback helped LHS win a district championship and received all-city team kudos. She’s presently among the nominees for Battle Creek’s prestigious Athlete of the Year Award.

A licensed American Youth Soccer (AYSO) referee, Crumback has also been active in the girl scouts and pep club along with working as a community volunteer. The daughter of James and Susan Crumback, Sarah plans to major in education at Ferris State. Her great-grandfather, Hall J. Estes, graduated from Ferris in the late 1920’s and played football for the Bulldogs.

Crumback joins midfielders Jackie Back (Ortonville/Brandon) and Stacey Daschner (Rockford), forward Tammy Unsworth (White Lake/Walled Lake Northern) along with defender Amanda Mills (Rockford) as current members of FSU’s 2005 recruiting class.

The Bulldogs concluded the 2004 women's soccer campaign with an 9-9-1 overall mark under Lalonde, which represented the program's second-best performance in its five-year history and included a fifth place 3-5 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) finish.