Tori Priddy, one of four seniors on Nicholls’ soccer team, has become a focal point in head coach Cindy Piper’s offense. “When Tori is on the field, she does whatever we need her to do to help the team succeed,” Piper said.

The Colonels are 1-3-1 overall this season, falling to Louisiana Tech, Centenary, and Mississippi Valley State, while beating Prairie View A&M and tying Louisiana-Monroe.

“We got off to a bit of a rough start, but I believe (with) every game we get better,” Priddy said.

Priddy, who has led the team in different statistics for the past two years, was the leading scorer last season with four goals.

Though the goal differential was greater last year, Priddy credits this year’s success to new players and better playing by veterans.

“All around the field you can see the players we have are stronger offensively,” Priddy said. In 2004 she was named co-Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and Nicholls State Female Athlete of the Year, and she was selected to First Team Academic All-SLC and the Louisiana Sports Writers Association first team.

Since her first year at Nicholls in 2003, Priddy said team recruitment has improved, and she hopes this continues each year.

“Getting good recruits and keeping players in the University will help the program to get better,” Priddy said.

Piper said although Priddy may not have gotten exposure for her work at Nicholls, the numbers she put up will be enough. “She’ll be one of the highest scoring players in school history, and that just adds to the well-rounded person she is,” Piper said.

As for the future of Nicholls soccer, Priddy hopes the rest of the community will take notice of the work the team is doing to become one of the premier soccer schools in the conference.

“Our facility gets better every year, and it is a testament to the work that the players are constantly doing to get better,” she said.