BOLIVAR, Mo. -- SBU women's soccer is set to open their 2010 regular season on Thursday, September 2 when they host Quincy beginning at 4 p.m. from the SBU soccer field. The Bearcats were fortunate to take a preseason mission trip to Brazil a few weeks ago and used the opportunity as a team-building experience. Just prior to the trip, head coach Robert Podeyn shared his thoughts on the upcoming season and the new faces on his squad.

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A quick glance at SBU soccer's 2009 season can be misleading. Although the Bearcats managed just a 7-9-3 record, head coach Robert Podeyn's squad battled through numerous injuries, and with just a few plays going the other way, could have had a different outcome. “We didn't have the depth to start the season, and the problem was that we had a lot of holes when we came in. We thought we could hide a few things, but when the injuries started, we had no ability to hide our weaknesses,” said Podeyn, after his first season on the Bearcat sideline.

Podeyn expects this year to have a very different feel, as many new faces will take the pitch for SBU. As many as eight starting positions may be filled by newcomers when the season kicks off against Quincy on September 2. “With 19 new players, it's gonna be about getting them all on the same page. That's gonna be pretty much it. One thing I can say is they will be an fun team to watch. With the talent we should be able to put on the field, they should be an exciting team.”

However, with all the new talent coming in, some key returners will be the anchor of this squad. “Taylor Vick is going to be in our defense this next year. She's a general back there, she'll keep things under control, and communicate. Then in the midfield, we're gonna have Kelly Isaac. Kelly did well in the fall, but I have never seen that kid play as well as she played this spring. Lindsey Boden is just such a creative player. She really reads the game well and has a knack for finding those openings. Brittany Ready is one of those returners, and I think she's got the hardest shot on our team. If you give the ball to a kid like Brittany, she can get a shot from anywhere from 20 yards out, and it's got a good shot at going in. We're looking for that leadership in the spine of our team to help keep things organized, especially when you're bringing in nineteen new players including sixteen freshmen.”

One of the closest battles for a starting position will be in goal. “Toward the end of the season, Megan Link really stepped up and showed that she can play at this level.” As a freshman, Link recorded four shutouts and a 1.19 goals against per game average. “I thought we need to bring in a player to push Megan or to maybe even challenge for her spot, and that's where we signed Paige Hemphill. Paige is a three-time All-State goalkeeper from Ozark, Mo. She ended up being second all-time in shutouts in the state of Missouri. If you're three-time All-State in anything, you're doing okay.”

After losing some key seniors from last year, one of the areas that will be really tested is the defense. “When you lose players with the leadership of Caitlin Tull and Vanessa Roher, you've got some big shoes to fill. You've really have to look at how you're gonna deal with that. We need to have a physical defender who is fast, aggressive, and that's where we got Brittany Smith (Overland Park, Kan.). Marene Gomez gives us the size to deal with somebody trying to serve to the back door, as does Jen French. Marene is 5'10" from South Jordan, Utah and Jen is 5'9" from Lenexa, Kan. We didn't have that size last year, and we let in so many goals where serves came to the back door and they were able to head it in. We've managed to address that, and at the same point we've upgraded our defense. I think we're faster and as physical as we were last year, and I think we're even better with possession out of the back.”

The Bearcat midfield will have opportunities for new players to come in an contribute right away. “In my mind, [former midfielder] Heidi Lewis is a big loss for us. Not just as a leader, but her work rate. She's a good player, and you can't say enough about somebody like Heidi.” A number of new signees, including Brenna Lacaillade, Rachel Haden, Chelsea VanHook, and Christina West, who is a junior transfer from Hannibal-LaGrange, will compete for starting roles. “All these kids are going to challenge for playing time at that midfield position. Christina was just invited to play on a select team that went to the Caribbean and played the Dominican and Haitian national teams. Then you've got a kid like Lacaillade, who's 5'10", an All-State player from Warrensburg, rated as one of the top 100 field players in the state of Missouri coming out in 2010, and she signed with us.

Then you've got local talent like Rachel (Ozark, Mo.) and Chelsea (Camdenton, Mo.), who are that physical presence. They'll stick in, they have good touch, and they read the game well. So you have some depth now at that midfield position where last year I don't think we really did. Not that we can replace Heidi, but I think we addressed it and brought in some talented players, and definitely some size.”

A lack of scoring continued to be a theme during the 2009 season. Coach Podeyn feels that with the additions brought in for the upcoming season, the offense will be upgraded. “Up top, we didn't have forwards last year, so anything we upgraded with was going to be a bonus. You need a player in the middle that's a big target, who can hold the ball under pressure, and is also very strong in the air. And that's where we went to (6'2") Ashley Creason. She plays for one of the top club teams, K.C. United, but she also played for Lee's Summit North, who's always a top five team in the state."

From there, Podeyn needed to find the wing attackers to compliment that scoring. "I think we got lucky a little bit later, in that we found a kid like Jade Barnden, and then we found Shonee Samia, who are both from Austraila," Podeyn continued. "Jade is 5'10", she's got very good speed, she's very good technically, and will definitely give us some chances in there. Then we pull a kid like Shonee in. When we she gets the ball, her mindset is 'I'm going to goal.' That's all she wants to do. Then you have other players that come in because we needed speed to get behind defenses. And that's where we pulled in a player like Emily Claudell, who is a very quick, attacking player. You've got another kid like Megan Melguin (Springfield Kickapoo), who's very strong technically, reads the game well, and has very good speed.”

With the talent the Bearcats have coming in, the biggest question going into the season is whether they can overcome their lack of experience to beat the top teams in the MIAA. “We're not gonna have a lot of time to sit back and say we're playing an easy game today. There's no game in our conference that's easy, not from what I saw last year.”