Women’s soccer opens season tomorrow at home

“It’s us against the world,” said the new Nicholls women’s soccer Head coach, Michael McBride. His words echo true already, as the early Southland Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Poll has ranked the Colonels eleventh out of twelve teams. Such a poll does not seem to phase the team, though, as they play with an intensity and fire unlike ever before.

“We want to be at least top three in the Southland Conference,” Jess Coates said. The Nicholls midfielder was named to the All-Southland Conference First Team and the NSCAA All-Region first team in 2014, as well as the selection for the preseason All-Southland First Team in 2015. Coates is now pursuing her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, and her bold statement about the team’s placing is one mirrored by the head coach himself.

McBride insisted that the team, at a minimum, intends to make the conference tournament, which should be no problem considering his background. Over his 15 seasons as head coach of the Notre Dame College men’s soccer team, he led them to an overall record of 273-76-16. Not only did Coach McBride lead the men’s soccer team to the highest winning record of any sport at the college, but he also led the Falcons to five conference championships (2002, 2004-07), three conference titles (2008, 2009, and 2010), and four NAIA National Championship appearances (2005, 2008, 2009, and 2010). He then led the Falcons to the National Tournament every season (2012-15) after they began competing as an NCAA Division II Institution. He was confident that he could not only improve the Colonels record of 6-10-1, but also lead them to the conference tournament. McBride said that the biggest trait that he brings to the team is “a culture of excellence.”

In describing what the players feel Coach McBride brings to the table, Hannah Savoie, a midfielder and forward on the team, said McBride brings a lack of complacency to the team, and he brings a lot of excitement.

However, it will not be an easy task for the team to move on from the departure of former player Spencer Valdespino, one of the most decorated athletes in the history of Nicholls State University. Rather than attempting to just replace such an influential player with another, both McBride and the senior players explained that everyone, including the team’s younger players, would see playing time and have vital roles to fill.

“The team becomes more than a sum of its parts,” McBride said when describing the roles of the members of the team. McBride specifically said that everyone is expected to contribute to the team’s ultimate goal.

“The players are not merely concerned with the numbers attached to their records and postseason play,” Coates said.

Once the season is over and it is all said and done, she just wants to leave the program better than she found it.

Looking ahead at the season, the girls insisted that the season will not only be fun for the team, but for the fans as well. The players hope to see more of the student body present at games. The women’s soccer team opens their season on Friday, Aug. 26 at home against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette at 4 p.m.