Women’s Soccer Preview: Lady Indians look to build on experience and depth in 2016

Women's Soccer Preview: Lady Indians look to build on experience and depth in 2016
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON, MS – With 10 returning sophomores, Coach David Strother and the Lady Indians look to build on the experience from 2015 and added depth to this season's roster.

"The results from the second half of the season showed that we were finally getting settled in to a totally new system," said Strother. "Hopefully eliminating that learning curve we experienced last year will help us get off to a much better start this season."

According to Strother, another key to early success will be sophomore leadership.

Hope Burton (Caledonia), Emily Buster (Prattville, Ala.), Noa Hardin (Starkville), Jessica Geraldson (Olive Branch), Summer Jensen (Pontotoc), Kelsy McKnatt (Fulton), Caroline Mueller (New Albany), Alyssa Park (Corinth) and Alyssa Stanford (Mooreville) will move into a much larger role, both on and off the field.

"I expect our sophomores to continue our philosophy and standards for this upcoming season and introduce our incoming freshmen to our expectations as well," said Strother. "Last season, we took pride in the way we played defensively, and we expect that to be improved this season with a year of experience under the belts of our sophomores."

In 2015, the Lady Indians conceded the second-best goals against average in program history and missed the playoffs by one spot.

Strother add 15 new players to the 2016 roster and expects the added depth to be an important component of the Lady Indians' success.

"Last season, we were running out of gas in some matches," said Strother. "This year, I wanted to make sure we have the depth we needed in all positions to help the ladies be able to compete for a full 90 minutes each time we step on the pitch."

Strother also hopes depth will also create added competition in positions.

One spot that is wide open for this season is the goalkeeper position and with no returning sophomores, Strother expects a healthy competition for the opportunity to anchor the team between Ana Branch (Oxford) and Alexis Dunaway (Saltillo).

"Both of these ladies know what wining looks like," commented Strother. "I think each of them have the confidence in net that we need for our team to be successful."

Branch led Lafayette High School to back-to-back MHSAA 5A North State Championship game and earned MAC All-Star honors in her final season with the Lady Commodores.

On the backline, ICC will have a strong mixture of sophomore experience and freshman athleticism.

Mueller returns to the center back position with Stanford, McKnatt and Park returning as outside backs with Claire Robertson (Tupelo), Nikkie Kesler (Oxford), Miaya Richardson (Columbus), Brooke Wilson (Saltillo), Savannah Courtright (Corinth) and Jennifer Hosey (Richland) providing quality depth across the entire backline.

"The mixture of returners and incoming players in our backline is very important," stated Strother. "We should be able to field a stronger backline than last year's team and that's saying something because I thought that was our strongest asset last season."

Depth continues to be the theme in the midfield for the Lady Indians.

Jensen, Sullivan and Hardin accumulated quality minutes last season while the addition of Audrey Wilson (Pheba), Malarie Scott (Saltillo) Morgan Dennis (Saltillo) and Karoline Jaggars (Saltillo) will help take the load off each players required minutes.

"Each of our returning midfielders had a tremendous spring season," said Strother. "That will be a key line for the squad and there will be a lot of expectations from the ladies that play on that line."

Strother looks to have added depth and scoring threats to the forward positions.

Burton, Geraldson and Buster will be accompanied by incoming freshmen Farris Bradley (Pontotoc), Allie Barnett (Iuka) and Brooke Younger (Columbus) to help give the Lady Indians a boost in their scoring power.

"Last season, we had games where we could keep the ball but couldn't find the back of the net," said Strother. "We worked on being more aggressive during the spring, and I expect our incoming freshmen to give us even more offensive power."

The 2016 season brings new beginnings, but the same expectations as the 2015 season.

"Our training standards and team philosophy are the foundation of our program, so we don't ever want to change things too drastically," commented Strother. "The thing that does change for us is the fact that we now have players involved in the program that know what we expect on consistent basis to help lead by example and give our new players time to adjust to the collegiate level of play."

The Lady Indians will open their 2016 campaign at South Division powers Pearl River Community College and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College before hosting Copiah-Lincoln Community College on Aug. 30 for the season's home opener.

For more information on ICC soccer, follow ICC Athletics on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).