“This is the best team we’ve ever had.”

Coach Tim Champion is noticeably excited about this year’s women’s soccer team. And they’ve only been playing together one week.

After finishing second in Conference USA with a 13-5-3 record overall and 8-0-3 in C-USA, the Billikens enter their sixth season determined to reach the NCAA Tournament and make noise in the tournament.

“We want to improve on last year’s record,” said Champion. “Obviously, we want to win conference. We want to get in the NCAA tournament and do well. We’ve only lost two starting seniors. We have a lot of players who have been at that level to succeed.”

Champion knows that he isn’t alone in his expectations for the season

“The team’s expectations are high,” Champion said. “They all feel like I do: that there isn’t a school on the schedule we can’t beat.

“We’re excited to get going,” said goalie Meghann Burke. “We’re finding our identity. Each year, each team is different. We’re seeing where people go and what our playing style is.”

If the Billikens maintain the intensity and competition that has defined their preseason practices, they will be well on their way toward that goal.

“We’ve really been working hard,” said junior midfielder Mandy Trokey. “There’s been so much competition at practice. Everyone’s playing for a position. The freshmen are eager to play. They make the veterans work harder. We’ve all been going as hard as we can. It’s going to be a constant competition.”

SLU is a deep, experienced team, having only lost two starters to graduation. But the freshman class is expected to make an immediate impact.

The Billiken defense will be in traditional suffocating form,, frustrating opposing forwards. Seniors Katie McDonnell and Melissa Gossman, juniors Megan McNiff and Erin Schwetye and sophomore Carrie Carlson will see time in the backfield in front of junior goalie Burke.

The unit brings experience and success against last season’s strong schedule. The Billikens stingy defense was ranked 14th nationally last season.

Burke, the 2001 preseason C-USA Player of the Year, started every game last season. She recorded a 13-5-3 record with a 0.72 goals against average and 10 shutouts.

Seniors Ismahan Mohsen and Beth Moberg, juniors Katie Zaegel, Trokey and Shannon Myers make up a core of experienced midfielders who will help spark the Billikens’ offense. Mohsen and Moberg provide four years of experience and stability in the midfield.

Zaegel and Trokey bring speed on the wings and pinpoint passing that lead to breakouts for the forwards. They are also scoring threats when not creating opportunities for others. Myers provides strength and grittiness in the midfield and is a solid threat in the air.

The group moves the ball quickly and accurately and transitions from defense to offense well.

Zaegel recorded 10 points on three goals and four assists. Trokey, who split time between midfield and forward added 13 points on four goals and five assists. Myers recorded 14 points on six goals and a pair of assists.

The Billikens have a number of options at forward. Junior Jenny Kehl, a preseason All-Conference team choice, sophomores Anny Lucier, Beth Nabozny and Lindsay Potrafke all saw action up top for SLU last season.

Kehl was the Billikens’ leading scorer, with 25 points on nine goals and seven assists. Lucier notched 11 points on five goals and one assist.

The incoming freshmen are expected to make an immediate impact. Goalie Sarah Eaton, forwards Jamie Perry and Blair Douglas, midfielder Lauren Rosenfeld and backs Tressa Pecher, Ellen Gerweck and Erin Stay are all battling for playing time this season.

“We have seven freshmen, and they’re all good players,” Champion said. “Some of the freshmen will get a lot of playing time. The freshmen are a good core of players. Jamie Perry averaged 30 goals a season in high school. No one will score 30 a year in college. Hopefully, she’ll make the transition here. Perry and Blair Douglas add a lot of speed up top.”

“You can see the desire in the freshmen,” Trokey said. “They provide momentum that will keep us going. They each have a lot of skill.”

SLU is looking to its upperclassmen to lead the team.

“The seniors provide a lot of leadership. We have a large class of juniors,” Champion said. “All of them have had great playing time. They’re connected and have been through it before. I’m happy to have such a large group of upperclassmen.”

The juniors and seniors will have to rely on their experience on the road this season. Most of their toughest games in C-USA are on the road.

The Billikens open the season with their first four contests on the road. After their opener at Creighton University, SLU travels to Charlottesville, Va, for the University of Virginia Tournament. The Billikens will face Auburn on Sept. 7 at 4 p.m. and West Virginia on Sept. 9 at noon.

“West Virginia is ranked in the top 25, and Auburn has one of the top recruiting classes in the country,” said Champion. “We’ll have a chance to see what we have against good team. We can see how we match up against nonconference teams. We can also see what we need to work on. Our first four games on the road will really determine how we do this season. They’re all against good teams.”

The road trip ends with a trip to Kansas. The Billikens home-opener is Sunday, Sept. 16 at 1 p.m. against Iowa.

The home schedule is marked with contests against C-USA newcomer Texas Christian, conference rival Cincinnati, in-state rival Southwest Missouri State and Big 10 power Wisconsin.

The Billikens will be challenged on the road with contests at the University of Houston, Tulane University, Charlotte, East Carolina University and Marquette University, the team picked to finish first in the C-USA preseason poll.

What has made the Billikens successful is a major intangible that separates great teams from good teams.

“We don’t have one or two superstars,” Champion said. “We have a talented, deep team that works hard. That’s been one thing that makes us successful. We work harder than the other teams we play.”

Fans can witness the hard-working Billikens in a pair of exhibition games in the next week. SLU travels to Southeast Missouri State for a contest tonight at 7 p.m.

“SEMO is going to be a pretty good team. They have a huge recruiting class, with eight freshmen and sophomores from St. Louis,” Champion said.

The Billikens then host Lindenwood on Wednesday, Aug. 29 at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.

“They’re the second-best NAIA team in the country,” Champion said. “They start seven or eight foreign players. They are older and more experienced. That game will help us get ready for Creighton.”