PHILADELPHIA - Despite coming off back-to-back Atlantic 10 titles and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, the 2014 La Salle women's soccer team won't be content with winning the A-10 and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament this season— they want to be the first Explorer team to win an NCAA Tournament game.
 
 "We're definitely not satisfied with just getting into the NCAA Tournament anymore," senior forward Kelsey Haycook said. "We're looking to go a couple steps further."
 
Seven starters will be returning to 20th and Olney this season, including seniors and former All-Atlantic 10 players in Haycook, Maryam Huseini, Kerri Aiken, Jessica Wiggins, and Anna Dolhansky. Gabriella Carbone is another senior starter who will be suiting up for her final season under head coach Paul Royal.
 
"The greatest thing for those seniors is still in their mind they haven't accomplished anything, they still want to win NCAA Tournament games," stated Royal. "That's the drive that they have, 'it's not good enough to win A-10 championships anymore, it's not good enough just to make the NCAA Tournament.'"
 
This group of seniors has a chance to become the winningest class in La Salle women's soccer history, needing 12 victories to surpass the 58 earned by the Class of 2014.
 
"The main thing is just helping our team's confidence, it's really trickled down to our younger players," Royal said of the seniors. "The players who have that leadership and that confidence are really going to step up."
 
Royal believes that the leadership of these seniors will help guide the Explorers through a daunting schedule that includes six teams that have played in the NCAA Tournaments in the last two seasons.
 
"The mindset in the last four years that's changed this program is that our opponent always remains the same," Royal said. "We're still going to show up and play no matter [the opponent], and we're going to play the game we want to play."
 
La Salle will open their 2014 schedule on the road this weekend with a pair of 2013 NCAA Tournament teams, taking on Boston University on Friday night and Northeastern on Sunday afternoon. 
 
"We're looking to come home with two wins, not just be satisfied with playing two NCAA [Tournament] teams," added Haycook.
 
The road to the NCAA Tournament begins for the Explorers at BU's Nickerson Field on Friday at 7 p.m.
 
OTHER KEY RETURNERS
Goalkeepers: In addition to Wiggins, Kelsey Yaiser and Larisa Zambelli have both shown promise in the preseason and are battling to be the second option for Royal in the net. Katie Getzinger will redshirt this season.
 
Defenders/Midfielders: Besides Aiken, the Explorers will have a number of returners that will aid their efforts in their defensive third. Chrissy Vollrath (18 games, 14 starts), Kari Nickels (18 games, 11 starts), and Danielle Marx (16 games, 3 starts) all made significant contributions for a defense that allowed only 18 goals last season. Hunter Filippo and Paige McDowell are both competing for a starting spot on the defense after redshirting in 2013.
 
Midfielders/Forwards: Behind Haycook as their primary scoring threat (15 goals in '13) and a key distributor in Huseini (single-season record 13 assists in '13), the Explorers will be dangerous in the offensive third this season. Dolhansky added four goals and eight assists in 22 games last season, while sophomores Marykate Bateman and Deja Davis combined for five goals and three assists as freshman. Juniors Emily Fenton (two assists in 14 games) and Jessika Kagan (1 goal/2 assists in 21 games)also figure to play an elevated role in La Salle's scoring efforts this season.