This article was originally published prior to June 2, 2013. Due to a change in the content management systems, the initial publication date in not available. 

The women’s soccer team has found a groove after losing its first game of the season. How important is it to get off to a good start before heading into conference play?<strong>The women’s soccer team has found a groove after losing its first game of the season. How important is it to get off to a good start before heading into conference play?</strong> The women’s soccer team has found a groove after losing its first game of the season. How important is it to get off to a good start before heading into conference play?

It’s really important to get off to a good start in conference play because I think it just gives us a different sort of confidence when we play well and you hit, like, a stride going into conference. It’s important.

You have been fighting an injury the past few weeks. What has been bothering you, and when do you expect to be back at full strength?<strong>You have been fighting an injury the past few weeks. What has been bothering you, and when do you expect to be back at full strength?</strong> You have been fighting an injury the past few weeks. What has been bothering you, and when do you expect to be back at full strength?

My back has been bothering me. Hopefully I’ll be able to play this weekend. I don’t know. We’ll see. I’m just taking it one day at a time right now.

The team lost its two top defenders from last year’s Fab Four team in Carly Dickens and Chelsea Dunn. How have the new defenders been playing so far, and how have you adjusted to the new defensive backfield?<strong>The team lost its two top defenders from last year’s Fab Four team in Carly Dickens and Chelsea Dunn. How have the new defenders been playing so far, and how have you adjusted to the new defensive backfield?</strong> The team lost its two top defenders from last year’s Fab Four team in Carly Dickens and Chelsea Dunn. How have the new defenders been playing so far, and how have you adjusted to the new defensive backfield?

It’s been really important for us to have (sophomore) Amber Pickering back there because she played last year. So, she’s really stepped up into a leadership role, and having (freshman) Shelby (Schiraldi) has been (a) huge impact. She’s just so strong back there. All of the freshmen that have started to play have been really great. (Senior) Jessica Shiney, she has been injured, but she’s feeling better now, and has been back. With her as a senior in the defense has been important for us, so I think we’ll be just fine.

How much will last year’s postseason run help out this season?<strong>How much will last year’s postseason run help out this season?</strong> How much will last year’s postseason run help out this season?

I think last year’s postseason run just gives us confidence, kind of an idea of what the national tournament looks like. It’s totally different than how we play during the year because we play so many games back to back. So, now that we have that experience and that amount of pressure, we’re going to have to try to live up to that. So, that should help out in the long run this season.

With William Jewell College leaving the HAAC, who do you think will be the team’s biggest rival and why?<strong>With William Jewell College leaving the HAAC, who do you think will be the team’s biggest rival and why?</strong> With William Jewell College leaving the HAAC, who do you think will be the team’s biggest rival and why?

Honestly, we probably have one of the strongest conferences that we know of, so we still have Graceland (University), (Missouri) Valley (College), and Benedictine (College) to contend with, and Avila (University) has stepped up pretty big and Culver-Stockton (College) has gotten better over the last couple of years. Honestly, Graceland is going to be our biggest rival. No game is going to be easy.