The Nicholls State University women’s soccer team prepares for an exciting upcoming season with their first home game against their new rivals, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns.

This year the team recruited eight new players after graduating eight seniors this past year. Freshmen midfielder Kaitlyn Caro, midfielder Taylor Douglas, Defender Nicole Dupin, midfielder Mie Elvestad, defender Katherine Kelly, midfielder Ainsley Pratt, midfielder Alison Ward, and midfielder Emily Werenskiold are expected to bring overall quality and depth by adding numbers to the team.

Head Coach Dylan describes the new players as “hungry and wanting to prove themselves.” As the new players compete for a position, Harrison and Assistant coach, Brianna Young prepare the team as a whole to assure they are ready for competitive upcoming season.
Harrison said the team is preparing for the season by taking a closer look at each player.

“We spent the first few weeks evaluating what we have,” Harrison said. “We are still adjusting to the players strengths and weaknesses and figuring out where each player belongs.”

Despite having a few injuries while getting ready for the season, Harrison is not worried about them as injuries are a part of the sport.

Since non-conference games such as the one against ULL normally come before conference, the team spends more time working out the kinks during these games in preparation for conference. Fewer players are used during conference since most players have found their positions by this time. This makes expectations higher for senior players goalkeeper Amanda Boylsen, midfielder/defender Kirsten Cunningham, midfielder/defender Missy McGuire, defender Amber Moore, midfielder/forward Lauren O’Brien, midfielder/forward Sarah Tani, midfielder/forward Kristy Tatom and midfielder Misty Tatom by the time their last conference tournament comes around.

Finishing the 2013 season with an overall record of 12-6-2 and a conference record of 6-5-1, Nicholls has high expectations for the women’s soccer team this upcoming season.