The women’s club soccer team will open the 2018 season on Saturday when it takes on Sacred Heart University at 3 p.m. at Kathy Zolad Stadium. This game will kick off the club’s first full season as an RSO at the university, having only been started in Dec. 2017.

Coming into their first official season, chemistry is important, said t head coach Rob Gryglewski..

“As a team, we need to work together really well,” said Gryglewski. “The formations we’re going to play, if you’re not on the ball, you mess up everybody, so getting that formation and the tactics down, is important.”

Chemistry, according to junior Nina Trasente, president and defender/midfielder for the team, is something the players agree is vitall.

“We want to focus on being more cohesive as a team and forming a bond,” said Trasente. “The closer you are to your teammates, the better you play.”

The team lost 13 players, but with the addition of new players, the roster is set at 23 for the fall campaign, and excitement continues to build among the players.

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With new players, team members say improvement is key for the team in establishing the foundation for the program to build on in the coming years.

“We are a newer team, so we are constantly improving,” said sophomore Kailey Feshler.  “We’ll keep getting better and obviously start winning more games as the season goes on.”

Sacred Heart will be an early opportunity for the team to evaluate itself in a game situation, having only gone through a week of practices.

“[Saturday] will be the deciding factor on where we stand currently and what we need to improve on” said Feshler. “So that will tell us who we are as a team, what our strengths and weaknesses are, because it’s going to be the first time that we all play together.”

Following Saturday’s opener, the team will play at home on Sept. 15 against the University of Hartford. In between, the women will play their next four games on the road against Yale, Wesleyan, Central Connecticut State, and Trinity College. The team will take on Quinnipiac on Sept. 29 and Fairfield on Oct. 3 in their home finale, before traveling to Storrs,to close out the season against University of Connecticut on Oct. 6.