Thursday, August 27 vs. Rhode Island (7 p.m.)
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Sunday, August 30 vs. Northeastern  (6 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. – With increased expectations, UMass Lowell Women's Soccer takes the next step in its development Thursday, 7:00PM, when the River Hawks open the season against the University of Rhode Island on the turf at the Cushing Field Complex.

"We have the best staff we've ever had, we've made improvements and we have ten new faces," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Joel Bancroft. "We'd like to build off of what we thought was a very promising season last year. This recruiting class has a real emphasis on players who have the ability to go forward and create more scoring opportunities."

The 2014 edition of the River Hawks finished 5-13-1 after winning just one game the previous season, its first as a Division I program and a member of America East. The team made significant strides defensively but struggled the create offense on a consistent basis. Bancroft and his staff has worked both through recruiting and training to increase the offensive output.

"It you look at the ten young ladies that we brought in, while they are not all attacking personalities, their comfort level on the ball and their ability to move forward is there," said Bancroft. "We feel we've added some special kids on the front of the team, hopefully, to score more goals."

Increased scoring has the potential to change everything. It reduces the pressure on other aspects of the game.

"I think the ability to score goals at a higher clip means we don't have to be so perfect when we defend," said Bancroft. "Strictly from a metric perspective we reduced our goals allowed last year and we increased our goals scored; now we have to take the next step."

UMass Lowell wrapped up its exhibition season with a 3-0 win against Fairfield, a game that may have reflected many of those things about which Bancroft had spoken. Immediately ahead for the team is a series of potentially testing non-conference match ups long before America East Conference play begins in October. URI visits Lowell on Thursday; Northeastern faces the River Hawks on Sunday, 6:00PM.

"Those are two very good programs," said Bancroft. "We're on the clock already, we don't have the luxury of easing into our season. I think these types of games will pay dividends when we get to the America East schedule."

Keys to Success

Increased offense and consistency are obvious keys for this soccer program, but Bancroft takes it a step further in identifying four major elements that must be there if the team is going to be successful.

"You have to have a deeper reservoir of athletic ability and fitness, technically you have to be more comfortable on the ball than our median level was last year, tactically you have to be a student of the game, you have to understand what your team is trying to employ in different phases of the field and at different times of the game. Then the mental piece is that you're playing at the highest level so when you're tired or things aren't going well for you, you have to have the ability to reset your mind and just think about the next play and not the last one.

The Big Question

Bancroft likes the pieces that have been assembled. How they will fit together becomes the big question.

"The timing of everything, can we reach our potential fast enough to have a full effect on our season. There are a lot of new faces; the question is how those pieces fit together and how much time it will take for us to gain an understanding of what we are trying to do as a group."

Maturity

As the coaching staff has watched this team prepare during the pre-season, one thing that has jumped out to the coach has been the growing maturity of the team.

"Where I am most confident is in the integration and maturation of the incoming freshmen and the returners. I just see the day to day things whether it's at practice, the way we speak to each other or the way we organize, it's at a higher level. They've met the Division I level of excellence and the way we carry ourselves."

New Faces

There are ten new faces on the roster, nine freshmen and a transfer. Both freshman Katelyn Vieira (Warwick, R.I.) and sophomore Rachel Morrier (Plaistow, N.H.,) a transfer from Providence College, scored goals in the Fairfield exhibition game.

At the other end of the pitch Goalkeeper Julia Schneider (Bridgewater, Mass.) turned in a strong performance in the exhibition encounter. "Today she came out an played like the girl we had watched and recruited; we're really proud of her," said Bancroft. "She has a ways to go, but today was a really good effort."

Opponents

The River Hawks won't begin conference play until October 1 when they host UMBC. August and September feature a series of non-conference opponents Bancroft hopes will have the team fully prepared for America East competition.

"We really want to build on last year and put together as competitive a schedule as possible. We have the luxury of playing in a strong region and we wanted to take advantage of that."