Rutherford leading Owens women's soccer to quick turnaround

After winning just one game all season last fall, suddenly the Owens women’s soccer team is on the express track to success.

The program had been dormant at Owens Community College since 2016 when the school reintroduced women’s soccer for the 2023 season. The Express went 1-11 in that first year back. But Owens is off to a 6-2-1 start this season under first-year coach Megan Rutherford.

“The players we brought in and the players that returned really want to win,” Rutherford said. “They are competitors. We’ve had multiple players come up big in games, and it’s someone different each game.”

The team won its first three games under Rutherford by a combined score of 16-0. The Express tied Jackson College 1-1 before winning three more in a row. Owens suffered its first loss, 2-0, at Delta College on Sept. 28 and fell again last Friday (2-0 at Schoolcraft).

“They want to be better, they want to win, they want to learn, and they want to have fun,” Rutherford said, trying to pinpoint the catalyst for the quick success. “Multiple players have scored game-winners. We have midfielders who aren’t afraid to put the work in. Our defense is solid, allowing very few goals. Our goalie [Layla McGinnis] has done a great job in the net making some big saves.

“They have each others’ backs. If someone isn’t scoring that day, a teammate will step up and shoulder the load.”

Freshman forward Ella Demaline, a Delta High School graduate, leads the team with 18 points in eight games.

Demaline said Rutherford has provided a spark at the helm with a vocal and strong personality.

“She’s just super encouraging,” Demaline said. “Going into the season, none of us girls really thought that we were even going to win that many games. But to see our progress throughout the season and what we’re capable, it’s crazy. And coach Megan was the first person who showed us to trust in ourselves. She goes into every game thinking that we can win.”

Owens, which has six sophomores and 12 freshmen, has scored 27 goals in nine games. The team is averaging 16.9 shots on goal. The stingy Express defense has a goals-against average that sits at 0.89.

This week, Owens received votes outside the top 10 in the NJCAA Division III women’s soccer national rankings.

Demaline, who earned All-Northwest Ohio Athletic League first-team honors as a high school senior, has scored a team-high eight goals and has two assists.

Freshman Kamryn Clifton ranks second on the team in scoring with 12 points (3 G, 6 A). Freshman Autumn Schroeder has the third-most points with 10 (5 goals), while freshman Libby Ewing has nine points (4 G, 1 A).

“It’s so nice having so many different girls that can affect the game,” Demaline said. “Whenever I pass the ball or cross the ball, I have trust in my teammates. I don’t have to second guess myself. It’s a really nice feeling knowing that you can trust your teammates. It's never just one person. We’re so lucky with the talent. Coach Megan has done an amazing job recruiting.”

McGinnis, a Woodmore graduate, has a 5-2-1 record with a 0.93 goals-against average and a .862 save percentage.

“They are all competitors,” Rutherford said. “They don’t like losing.”

The same can be said of Rutherford, who experienced great success at the high school level before taking over at Owens. At Eastwood, Rutherford’s teams posted a 152-45-16 record, won four Northern Buckeye Conference championships, and reached Division III regionals four times. In 2019, Rutherford was named Ohio’s D-III coach of the year.

“She’s put so much effort into our team, and her belief in us has given us belief in ourselves,” Demaline said.

One of Rutherford’s biggest strengths is her time management.

“At her practices, she has everything down to a T,” Demaline said. “She plans each drill for a certain amount of time. So our practices are always super efficient.”

Rutherford originally planned to be an assistant under Zane Polack, who led the program’s resurrection last fall. But Polack stepped down to be closer to his family, and Rutherford inherited a team that won just once.

Rutherford credited Polack for putting a roster together in a very short time frame.

“Without the returners’ efforts, their struggles, their grit and resiliency from last season, this season would have never happened,” Rutherford said. “I want to make sure [Polack’s] efforts weren’t in vain. I want a program where women come to play with pride. The fact that we’ve received votes for national rankings is pretty awesome.”

During the first preseason meeting, Demaline said it was impossible to envision such quick success. She said the players were all unfamiliar with each other.

“It was kind of weird at first,” Demaline said. “But at our first practice, we all really got along immediately. We found out pretty quickly that we can be encouraging. We have to have each other's backs.”

One of Rutherford’s stated goals when she was hired in April was to recruit and sign local players to help rebuild the program. Of the 18 players, all of them went to high school within a 35-mile radius of Owens.

Rutherford encourages recruits to watch the team’s home games, which are well attended.

“I think it’s going really well. We have a lot of interest for the 2025 class, and I’m excited for what the future brings,” Rutherford said. “The players that came in this season have been amazing. These women bought in quickly, they’ve worked hard, they’ve all produced on the field and played well in games.”

In their six wins, five different players have notched the game-winning goal. Autumn Schroeder has a team-high two game-winners.

McGinnis consistently makes big saves. The defenders cover ground and jump-start the attacks. Delaney Coughlin has played nearly every minute, anchoring the midfield.

“The girls have really made an effort to get to know each other, because it is our first year playing together,” Demaline said. “We definitely tried to make an effort to build team chemistry.”

The Express have two more games before they compete in the regional tournament.

Rutherford said team meetings revolve around pursuing goals while establishing a mission and culture.

“We focus on the controllables,” she added. “Are we ascending the same peak? We choose every day to play hard, to love each other, and to create an experience that brings joy to others. If the entire team operates this way, we’ll all get better each day and ascend together.”