The MSU women's soccer team fell just short of an NCAA Tournament bid last year, but the Spartans are hoping a strong nucleus of seniors will lift the team into the NCAA Tournament this season.
"We have a great group of veterans," head coach Tom Saxton said. "We were disappointed that we fell just short of an NCAA bid (last year), but we were proud of the level of competition we played against."
The Spartans lost a powerful senior class that was involved in the first ever NCAA bid for the Spartan women's soccer program, but Saxton envisions this year's senior group to pick up right were the departing seniors left off.
"What excites me is that we have a group of upperclassmen who have played roles since they got here, and I feel they are ready to step in and fill the void of leadership," Saxton said in a written statement. "I am confident we can keep things going in the right direction even though we are changing the guard."
With the loss of much needed scoring power, the women's soccer team will be changing their forward attack in an effort to increase their offensive threat.
"We are going to be switching from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 offensive attack to try and put more pressure on the other team," senior midfielder Ashley Lawson said.
With six goals and five assists in 2003, Emma Harris is the team's lead returning scorer and will be looked at to provide similar offensive numbers this year.
Senior midfielder Abby Shepherd, who was named second-team all-Big Ten last year, is hoping to finish her MSU career solidly.
"Last season was a bit disappointing, but we still have the same goals - make it back to NCAAs and make it further in the Big Ten," Shepherd said.
In addition to changing their offensive scheme, the Spartans will focus on their defensive strategy as well this season.
"We have been a very good defensive team, and we want to establish ourselves as a stingy team," Saxton said.
The defense will be spearheaded by senior Emily Carbott, who will be joined on either side by juniors Nina Mastracci and Emily Wiegand. Sophomores Anna Hagel and Katherine Peters will battle for the last remaining defensive position.
The Spartans' schedule includes eight teams that qualified for the 2003 NCAA tournament. Five of those teams are Big Ten Conference rivals, but coach Saxton and players don't appear to be too worried.
"We have a very difficult schedule, but we are a very good team," Saxton said. "There is never an easy game in the Big Ten, and we are not going to overlook any team."
The women's soccer team added some quality recruits since last year, such as Erin Doan, Kelly Hannon and Lauren Astry. The Spartans will be looking to see if any can have an immediate impact this season.
"They should have an impact, but the transition from high school to college is tough. We can't put too much pressure on them," Shepherd said.
