Coming off the first consecutive six-win record season in team history, the Nicholls soccer team is looking to continue improving in the 2012-2013 season.
 Entering his fourth year with the Colonels, head coach Dylan Harrison has settled in and feels comfortable with the team, along with a better understanding of the conference and competition.
The Colonels will field as a young team comprised of seven freshmen, seven sophomores, one redshirt sophomore, eight juniors, one senior and one redshirt senior. Senior Britni Crone, from Houma, La., has accepted a leadership role on the team along with teammate Carolyn Noble, senior from Burlington, Ontario.
“Coming in I was supposed to be the only senior, but Carolyn got injured, so I was excited she would be able to help in a leader role,” Crone said. “As two seniors we feel like leaders of the team.”
Over the summer, players were given a workout plan to prepare for the season, and the team established fitness standards that all players were expected to follow in order to return to the team. Harrison noted improved communication among the team, which he attributed largely to social media.
“What they did a better job of was tracking and monitoring themselves, whether it be through Facebook or other means,” Harrison said. “They established communication to make sure the others were training at the level we thought was necessary to come back.”
To further improve their game away from the practice field, the players have individual meetings to study game tape and receive feedback on previous game performance.
 The team will play six home games and 12 away games during the season. The team posted a winning record at home last year but struggled on the road, winning only one game away from Nicholls.
Even with the previous year’s success, which included a five game winning streak, the team remains determined to improve in conference play to match their early season victories.
“It has been nice, but it has been unsatisfying,” Harrison said in regards to the conference struggles. The Colonels were unable to pick up a win in conference last year, but the squad has put added emphasis on translating close games into victories this year.
With games slated against both the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa this weekend, the Colonels are excited for a challenge so early in the season.  The team looks to learn from the experience and bring home a victory. Looking forward to the trip, Harrison said, “Being able to go up there and play a tough game like that at the beginning of the season really gives us a great measuring stick of where we need to be.”