The Southeast Missouri State women’s soccer team has begun Ohio Valley Conference play. The team played to a scoreless draw last Friday and won 5-0 against Eastern Illinois Sunday.

Last season, the team won a share of the regular-season OVC championship but fell short in the OVC Tournament.

One of the team’s captains junior midfielder Kaitlin Kuznacic, plans to use that experience to help her this season.

“I think it’s just going to drive us to get to the tournament and win the tournament this year,” Kuznacic said.

One way the team has improved this season is by adding depth.

Kuznacic believes the team has substitutes that are ready to step in when the starters are not on the field.

“I think in general the team has done a really good job with our depth this year,” Kuznacic said. “That’s always a bit of a struggle, getting a group with such wide depth that if someone gets injured or can’t play other players can take over and we’d be just fine.”

Coach Heather Nelson agreed, saying this year’s team has even more depth than last season’s squad.

One of the positions that has added depth is goalkeeper.

Last season, sophomore goalkeeper Kindra Lierz started every game and went on to be named Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year in the OVC.

With sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Sickle joining the team this season, Coach Nelson has the opportunity to make sure they are both ready for game action.

This season Lierz has recorded 25 saves while allowing eight goals while compiling five wins, three losses and two draws. Sickle has has allowed three goals while making five saves during her four wins.

“I think they are both working really hard at training and bringing out the best in each other,” Nelson said. “And as a coaching staff we’d rather make sure both keepers are comfortable with our back four and getting in game experience.”

Part of that added depth is coming from the freshmen. Freshman forward/defender Lauren Kaempfe is one of the six freshmen on the team and has improved the speed of her game since joining the team.

“When I first got here everybody’s touch on the ball was so quick, I was blown away,” Kaempfe said. “But now I’ve adjusted to that a little bit and gotten much better overall.”

With a goals allowed average of 1.22 heading into conference play the defense has been a key element to the team’s success.

Trust, chemistry and communication have played major roles for the defensive unit.

“I think this past weekend is when our defensive unit has worked best as a group,” Nelson said. “When you step up to challenge a player, you expect the other players behind you to be taking care of your back. There’s a lot of trust and a lot of communication that has to take place for them to work together at a high level.”

The team recently was announced as having the fifth-best GPA in the nation by The National Soccer Coaches Association of America among all Division I teams. Coach Nelson believes this hard work in the classroom shows up when working with the team on the field.

“Our girls are very coachable, and they want to learn,” Nelson said. “They want to understand why they are doing things.”

The team is really excited about OVC play.

“I think they’re the one team you could say we have the most rivalry with,” Kuznacic said. “It’s the one and two seeds. Us being ranked second we feel like we have something to prove. It’s a really good chance to prove to us and the entire OVC how good of competitors we are. So I think it’s just a really serious game for us.” Kuznacic said prior to the game against SIUE.

The Redhawks played SIUE to a draw during which Lierz played the entire game, shutting out the Cougars recording three saves.

The team followed that performance up with a 5-0 victory against Eastern Illinois. Natasha Minor scored two goals and Angie Mann scored her team leading sixth goal.

Sickler started the game before being relieved by Lierz.

The Redhawks are scheduled to continue OVC play Friday against Austin Peay.