The Southeast Missouri State women's soccer team kicked off the 2014 season with two exhibition games before its first regular-season game against Ohio Valley Conference opponent UT Martin in a non-conference matchup on Aug. 24.

The Redhawks lost to the Lipscomb Bisons on Aug. 11 and the Saint Louis Billikens on Aug. 13 in exhibition play.

"It's just an opportunity to figure things out," new assistant coach Alex Kleman said. "We have nine newcomers to the team, so that's over a third of new players on the team. It's an opportunity for them to get to work with each other, and it's an opportunity for the coaching staff to see and evaluate them in a competitive environment that isn't against each other in a training session."

Southeast only scored once in its exhibition games, which came against the Billikens in a 3-1 loss.

That goal was scored by Southeast's co-top returning scorer, sophomore midfielder/forward Natasha Minor. Junior defender Paige Luehmann got the assist.

Last season as a freshman, Minor tied junior forward Erin Shulman for most goals on the team with four and also led the team in assists with four.

Minor was was named Second Team All-OVC and was a member of the OVC All-Newcomer team last season.

Freshman goalkeeper Kindra Lierz recorded two saves per contest in exhibition play but allowed four goals.

Lierz is the new goalkeeper for the Redhawks this season and is replacing Ashton Aubuchon, who was named the 2013 OVC Defensive Player of the Year.

"I think Kindra has some very similar attributes as Ashton did, and we have very high hopes for her to be one of the top performers in the OVC," Southeast coach Heath Nelson said. "If I know anything about her, just as Lindsey Pickering was hoping Ashton would exceed the things that she had earned within the OVC, that Ashton will want the exact same thing for Kindra. If anyone's going to knock her off in terms of awards or records, she'll be wanting Kindra to be the one to do that."

Lierz will also be mentored by Kleman, who was hired on Aug. 6 and took over as the goalkeepers coach.

"We've had the opportunity to work together for a little bit, just about a week and she has a lot of great tools," Kleman said. "So it's just going to be working on refining her skills and making her the most prepared for each and every match, especially once we enter conference play."

Southeast will start OVC play on Sept. 29 against Eastern Illinois.

Kleman was the graduate assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky for the last two seasons and played at Transylvania University.

"This is a great opportunity to join a staff and team that has historically been very successful," Kleman said. "I'm just hoping that I can contribute and continue the success that has taken place on and off the field."

The Redhawks were picked to finish fourth this season in the OVC by coaches and sports information directors in the conference.

"I think that puts us in a range where we are expected to be very competitive for the title, but at the same time we don't have the biggest target on our back," Nelson said. "Anything they pick close to first but not first is probably my preference because I know whenever we go into anybody's home field and they've been chosen as No. 1, we're going to bring our very best game and make it clear that that's a mistake in selection."

Nelson concluded that the fans of Southeast soccer are going to see a lot of depth on the team and a very possession-based game.

"I think that we have quite a bit of talent, and we're extremely fit," Nelson said. "So I know that the players within this program, even though we're just a week in, are extremely dedicated and responsible with regards to everything we're asking them to do. So it should be a very exciting brand of soccer, and I think we have a number of players either returners or newcomers that can contribute to goal-scoring opportunities for us."