The Skyhawk soccer team is going into the 2019 season with hopes of building off of an excellent 2018 campaign that saw the team go 15-3-1, and nearly go undefeated in the OVC.
However, the Skyhawks are coming back to the field again with an eagerness to improve.
The roster this year has seen some dramatic changes from 2018, with five All-OVC players from last season departing the team. Among the 14 returning players, eight new ones have been brought along to fill the shoes of those who preceded them.
Though the team lost their OVC Defensive Player of the Year and OVC Player of the Year, the team will still benefit from the return of their sole 2018 All-OVC player, goalkeeper Erica Myers, who logged over 13,000 minutes in goal last season as well as posting a league-low 0.64 goals against average in OVC play.
Senior forward Nicole Collins returns to the team, this time as the most experienced forward on the roster. While starting 46 of 57 career games, Collins has racked up five goals and four assists.
While the offensive side of the team has been significantly altered, the defensive core boasts five returners with starting experience. Among those players include former OVC All-Newcomer Kamryn Chappel, who has logged over 3,300 minutes in the last two years.
Along with a pool of incoming freshmen, the Skyhawks also brought in former Samford University forward Baylee Arnott, who helped the Bulldogs capture a pair of regular season conference championships during her time with the team.
Head coach Phil McNamara addressed the roster changes from last year with enthusiasm, saying that the outgoing personalities on the team allow them to mesh better than any team he has seen in his tenure.
“In a short period of time, the team has worked really hard,” McNamara told UTM Sports Information. “I love the commitment and work ethic that they’re all demonstrating at this point. To offset our inexperience, the group offers a real fresh approach, a willingness to improve and learning to do whatever it takes to be successful.”
Due to UTM’s record-setting 2018 season, the Skyhawks will face a grueling schedule in 2019, which is highlighted by matchups against Middle Tennessee State, Mississippi State and Indiana before going into conference play.
“We have an extremely difficult schedule, probably the strongest in my tenure here,” McNamara told UTM Sports Information. “That tends to happen after you have a successful year – it’s always easy to schedule quality opponents because they want to play the toughest teams.”
Despite roster changes and a tough schedule, Skyhawk fans can still look forward to another OVC-contending season in 2019.
