It's safe to say the six seniors on the Drury women's soccer squad have good memories. They remember the feeling of that magical late-season run they put together as freshmen, one that resulted in their only Great Lakes Valley Conference tourney championship and NCAA-II Tournament march that didn't end until they fell to top-ranked Grand Valley State in the Sweet 16.
They watched from the stands last year as the DU men's soccer program gained the limelight with their nearly identical run to GLVC and NCAA-II tourney success.
And, now as seniors with one final opportunity, they certainly want to get that feeling back.
"These girls are very focused and know what they want to do," fifth-year head coach Alf Bilbao says. "They remember what it was like their freshmen year and want to get back to that point."
The quest for Bilbao's Panthers begins on Thursday, when they take on Ashland in the season opener with a 6 p.m. (CST) start from Ashland, Ohio. The Eagles finished 3-13-3 last season, including an 0-12-0 mark in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) competition.
It's also the start of a three-game road trip for Drury, which will visit Tiffin on Saturday before opening Great Lakes Valley Conference play on Monday at Lewis. The Panthers, 13-6-0 last season, were picked for sixth in the GLVC preseason poll of its 15 league coaches, while Lewis was tabbed for ninth.
Bilbao returns a squad with a healthy mix of season veterans and fresh-faced newcomers all ready to contribute. The offensive attack is sparked by the return of their top three scorers - junior Nicole Williams, who led DU with 11 goals and added three assists for a team-leading 25 points last season, sophomore Katie Pritchard (9 goals, 5 assists) and senior Mandi Little (7 goals, 3 assists). That trio will be joined by freshman Lindsey Sprouse and others to give DU a potent, deep group at forward.
That would also describe the Panthers in the mid-field category as well, where senior Kelsy Long is back to provide her outstanding leadership skills as a captain and three years of starting experience. Senior Alyssa Allcorn, junior Hillary Cockrell and sophomores Beth Schramka, Kelly Gallagher and Amanda Jackson help make this one of the deepest positions for the Panthers, with freshman Kara Steiner also expected to see extensive action.
The keeper position is again in solid hands with the return for one final year of senior Jessie Sanderson, who has earned some level of All-GLVC status in each of her three seasons. Sanderson posted 10 shutouts last season and now has a school-record 30 for her career. The league's Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year during DU's 2007 title run, Sanderson allowed just 11 goals in 19 matches last season.
"We know what we're going to get from Jessie," Bilbao says.
It's the line in front of Sanderson that might be Drury's lone question mark entering the 2010 campaign. Senior sweeper Sarah Colvin-Fritz is the lone returnee with extensive experience, and one of the best in D-II at that after earning All-GLVC First Team status last fall, her third straight year as a starter. But Colvin-Fritz and senior Meredith Hall will be surrounded by youngsters whose progress as the season goes on will largely determine Drury's fate come post-season time.
The group of defender possibilities includes highly freshmen Brittany White, Elle Aston and McKenna Feltes.
"We have confidence in that group being able to pick it up quickly and play well back there," Bilbao says. "A lot of it will depend, too, on the leadership from Colvin-Fritz and Jessie as they help them learn as they go."
Altogether, it's a group that Bilbao believes has a chance to continue DU's recent success story, which includes four straight winning seasons and three consecutive with 10 or more victories from a program that, prior to Bilbao's arrival in 2006, hadn't had a winning campaign since 1998, a span of seven seasons.
The schedule is challenging yet again, particular a GLVC slate that features road matches at three of the five schools picked ahead of the Panthers in the preseason poll, including contests at league favorite Northern Kentucky (Oct. 17) and No. 2 pick Quincy (Sept. 10).
Alf Bilbao's Season Preview On The Panther Podcast