After losing their final home game 3-1 to Central Arkansas Friday and dropping a conference road game 6-2 to Stephen F. Sunday, the Lady Colonels will not make the conference tournament for a second consecutive year. Even though the Lady Colonels will not make the conference tournament, Head Coach Cindy Piper said this year’s team has been much more competitive.

“As a team overall, it’s more talented than any team we’ve had in the past,” Piper said. “We’re still young, so we’re still making young mistakes.”

Piper said the Lady Colonels did not score enough goals this year.

“We should be putting the ball in the back of the net, but we’ve missed some opportunities,” Piper said. “We’re getting better. We just have to score goals now.”

The Lady Colonels have five seniors on this year’s team, all of which Piper said have contributed to this team.

One of those seniors, defender Kristen Fillmore, said her career has been fun.

“It’s been a great learning process,” Fillmore said. “I’m excited that I got to hang out with these girls. It’s sad to finish.”

Piper said Fillmore, along with defender Ashley Bock, midfielder Tori Priddy, defender Stephanie Leonard and defender Billie Potter have done a great job for the Lady Colonels.

“They put a lot of hard work into this program,” Piper said. “They went through the coaching change, and it was tough on some of them, but they stuck around and made strides with the program. I certainly appreciate everything they have done for us.”

Even though her career is nearing an end, Fillmore said she will still be an avid supporter of the Lady Colonels.

“I know I’m going to be sticking around and watching everybody grow,” Fillmore said. “This team is getting better every year, and we’re still going to get better, especially with all these young girls. They have potential, and everybody is going to have to watch out in the next few years.”

Piper agreed the future of this team looks bright, but said they would worry about the future at the end of the season.

“Right now we’re just going to concentrate on what we have left,” Piper said. “They are a great group of kids, and if they can all come together great things can happen.”

The Lady Colonels currently have a record of 4-13-1 overall and 1-6 in the Southland Conference. They currently sit in eighth place of the nine teams. The Lady Colonels conclude their season Friday when they travel to Natchitoches to play Northwestern St. The Lady Demons currently sit in fifth place in the conference with a record of 8-8-2 overall and 3-3-1 in the Southland Conference.