No. 11 women’s soccer looks for strong defensive effort to carry team

Months after an impressive campaign came to a crushing end against Virginia in the third round of the NSCAA Tournament, the No. 11 women’s soccer team has begun preparing for what promises to be a thrilling season.

The Trojans went 15-6-2 overall last year, including a 9-2 Pac-12 record that earned third-year head coach Keidane McAlpine a contract extension.

Fans at McAlister  Field will see many familiar faces as the team returns 21 players, including nine of 11 starters. Senior midfielder and defender Savannah Levin realizes the benefit of having largely the same personnel.

“It leaves that much more time to focus on soccer and getting right into it,” Levin said.

For McAlpine, the message to his team is simple.

“Remember what got us to the season we had last year: discipline in detail and doing the little things well,” McAlpine said.

Carried by a staunch defense that only allowed 5 goals in conference play, McAlpine hopes the team’s defensive effort can lead the way again.

“That’s still our foundation,” McAlpine said. “That’s still what we’re going to rely on.”

But he also emphasized composure in front of goal as an area the team needs to improve. McAlpine hopes that transfer forwards Alex Anthony from Maryland and Leah Pruitt from San Diego State will provide the finishing touches that the team lacked last season.

Anthony finished tied for second in the Big Ten with 10 goals while Pruitt led her team, also with 10 goals. If the transfers can adjust quickly to the rest of the team and establish a rapport with All-Pac-12 First Team selection and leading scorer Morgan Andrews, a senior midfielder, the team could form a formidable attack.

The Trojans face many teams that played in the postseason last year and will face many who are ranked in the preseason Top-25. In conference, the team hosts Stanford on Oct. 6 and crosstown rival UCLA Nov. 4. But McAlpine and his players are not shying away from the challenge.

“The expectation is always to push to be in the top three in the conference and to get seeded,” McAlpine said. “If you’re seeded in the national tournament you give yourself a chance to make a run.”

Therein lies the benefit of playing difficult out-of-conference games against perennial powers like North Carolina, McAlpine said.

“Non-conference games are about trying to challenge yourself to prepare for conference [games] and playing well and growing every game,” McAlpine said.

McAlpine’s expectations for the upcoming season are simple: make the NCAA tournament and get as far as possible. His players echo his confidence and embrace the opportunity to match up against tough opponents.

“Every game is a difficult game so you don’t take any game lightly, but you get up to play teams like that,” senior defender Kayla Mills said. “We know what we’re capable of so it’s exciting to have them.”

Back in the fold as well is forward Katie Johnson, a redshirt senior who tied for second in scoring for the Trojans in 2014 before being redshirted all of last season as she recovered from injury.

With Johnson’s return — the transfer forwards and the development of young talent Sydney Johnson — a junior this year who tallied 5 goals last season, it seems a competition is brewing at forward. The Trojans can only hope the eventual striker pairing will help transform what was a weakness last year into a strength.

Another key piece will be Mills, who as a senior sees some added responsibility on the team. Coming off an incredible season that earned her Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Pac-12 First Team Selection, Mills prefers to focus on team goals.

“I have a lot to work on,” Mills said. “But I feel like it’s part of my job to lead to the team to everything we’re going to do this year.”

As for being placed on the watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy Award — awarded to both the top male and female collegiate soccer player — along with teammate Morgan Andrews, Mills is thankful to her team for putting her in this position.

“It’s not about me,” Mills said. “If this team is successful, we’re going to get people places where they want to go.”

Levin praised her teammate and emphasizes her selflessness and drive to improve.

“Soccer is always on her mind,” Levin said. “She’s doing everything she can to get better. Not just to get on lists like that. She just loves the game and loves the team and loves her coaches, and I think she’s just a special player.”

Meanwhile, Mills is not short of confidence when she speaks of what this team can achieve.

“Everyone stay tuned,” Mills said.

The Trojans’ season officially begins Aug. 19 when they visit Santa Clara.