HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana women's soccer team will report to campus on Tuesday to begin preparations for the 2013 season.
The Lady Lions have six returning starters from last season, yet will also be replacing a group of 11 seniors from last season's team. Despite the losses, Southeastern head coach Blake Hornbuckle believes Southeastern has what it takes to be a force in the Southland Conference in the coming year.
"We have very good leadership from our returning group of players," Hornbuckle commented. "We have some younger players who we hope to see develop at an accelerated rate. We certainly recognize the contributions of last season's senior class, but we are poised to move on and continue to succeed. It's time for a new era for Southeastern Soccer and we are preparing to put a strong foot forward."
Offensively, Hornbuckle will be charged with replacing 2012 senior Maiya Cooper – the only player in school history to post four seasons of double-digit goals. The top candidate to take over the top scoring threat role for the Lady Lions is sophomore Kayla Vera. In 2012, Vera was named Louisiana Freshman of the Year and honorable mention All-Southland Conference after finishing with six goals and six assists. Hornbuckle believes Vera has a bright future in the green and gold.
"Kayla was able to be very productive for us last season despite the fact that she was never fully healthy," Hornbuckle said. "Now that she's 100 percent, she has a chance to really take off. Kayla will draw a great deal of attention and be very difficult for opponents to deal with."
Hornbuckle also mentioned several others he expects to contribute to the scoring load.
"Casey Peacock had a fantastic off season," Hornbuckle stated. "She's big, strong and fast and will be a great asset for us. We also expect Marissa Rodrigues to contribute up top. Brianna Singh comes to us after scoring over 100 goals in high school. She has a knack for finding the net and being at the right place at the right time. Gisenia Utreras is a Memphis transfer with the versatility to contribute up top and in the midfield."
The Lady Lions return a strong pairing in the midfield. Both senior Kelsey Salcido (second team) and Cheyenne Maxwell (honorable mention) were named to the All-Southland Conference teams last season.
"With Kelsey leading the way, we have a very strong nucleus in the midfield," Hornbuckle commented. "Cheyenne is another versatile piece who can also contribute in the back. Jen Babcock will be a force due to her great service and we also expect Megan Simon to provide a spark out wide. Gabrielle Dubroc will also be capable of filling a number of roles. Amber Lasher has an engine that's always running and she'll have an immediate impact as a freshman."
Senior Shanyce Shaw, a two-time All-Southland choice will return to lead the Southeastern defense. Junior Chelsea Villaescusa, sophomore Maddie Allen and sophomore Erin Christ return in the back for a Lady Lion squad that rolled off five consecutive shutouts in the latter part of last season.
"Shanyce has been a steady presence at outside back throughout her career," Hornbuckle said. "Erin was very impressive during the spring and we expect her to be dominant in the air. Maddie and Chelsea are both capable of playing centrally or in the back. Maddie also made great strides in the offseason and Chelsea has great range on her service.
"We also have a group of newcomers that should help us in the back right away," Hornbuckle added. "Alexsis Cable is a good communicator who embraces challenges. Lauren Lorentz is a great in-state product who does an outstanding job connecting her passes. Katie Noonan is another player we expect to make an impact immediately as a physically imposing defender.
The back line will be protecting a new face in the net for the first time in recent memory. Lacey Bockhaus, the 2012 Louisiana Player of the Year, leaves big shoes to fill after finishing her time in Hammond as arguably the most successful goalkeeper in the program's nearly two-decade history. Freshmen Hope Sabadash and Casey Jeanfreau will be vying for the starting spot in goal.
"We feel like we have two great freshmen keepers," Hornbuckle stated. "Hope has great experience after training at the U-20 National Training Center in Ontario. She's a very composed, confident keeper who does a nice job taking balls out of the air. Casey comes to us as a very good shot stopper who comes off the line very well. We expect it to be a great battle in preseason training for the starting keeper spot."
Hornbuckle's squad will be facing a new challenge as the landscape of the Southland Conference has changed dramatically from a year ago. The league will have an all-time high 13 soccer-playing schools in 2013. New members include first-year program Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, as well as Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian. The top six teams in the Southland standings advance to the Southland Conference Tournament, scheduled for Nov. 7-10 in Lake Charles.
The Lady Lions open their schedule on Aug. 23, hosting Jackson State in Strawberry Stadium. The remainder of the team's home contests include visits from Mississippi State (Sept. 6), Alcorn State (Sept. 8), Texas Southern (Sept. 15), Incarnate Word (Sept. 27), Abilene Christian (Sept. 29), Lamar (Oct. 6), Stephen F. Austin (Oct. 18), Northwestern State (Oct. 20) and Houston Baptist (Nov. 3). Southeastern offers free admission to all home soccer matches.
Southeastern's road schedule opens with an Aug. 27 contest at Louisiana-Lafayette. The Lady Lions also travel to Mississippi Valley State (Aug. 30), Southern Miss (Sept. 1), Louisiana-Monroe (Sept. 13), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Sept. 20), McNeese State (Sept. 22), Central Arkansas (Oct. 11), Oral Roberts (Oct. 13), Sam Houston State (Oct. 27) and Nicholls State (Nov. 1).
2013 Southeastern Louisiana Women's Soccer Schedule
8/23 – Jackson State (Strawberry Stadium) – 7 p.m.
8/27 – at Louisiana-Lafayette – 6 p.m.
8/30 – at Mississippi Valley State – 6 p.m.
9/1 – at Southern Miss – 4 p.m.
9/6 – Mississippi State – 4 p.m.
9/8 – Alcorn State – 1 p.m.
9/13 – at Louisiana-Monroe – 4 p.m.
9/15 – Texas Southern – 1 p.m.
9/20 – at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi* - 4 p.m.
9/22 – at McNeese State* - 1 p.m.
9/27 – Incarnate Word* - 4 p.m.
9/29 – Abilene Christian* - 1 p.m.
10/6 – Lamar* - 1 p.m.
10/11 – at Central Arkansas* - 4 p.m.
10/13 – at Oral Roberts* - 1 p.m.
10/18 – Stephen F. Austin* - 7 p.m.
10/20 – Northwestern State* - 1 p.m.
10/27 – at Sam Houston State* - 1 p.m.
11/1 – at Nicholls State* - 4 p.m.
11/3 – Houston Baptist (Senior Day)* - 1 p.m.
11/7-10 – at Southland Conference Championships# - TBA
Southeastern home events in bold – Free admission to all home events
* - Southland Conference contest
# - Lake Charles, La.
All times Central and subject to change
