The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's soccer team was picked to finish second in the AMCC Preseason Coaches' Poll; however, head coach Mike Idland knows the season isn't decided before his team takes the pitch.
"It's too early for me to commit to any definitive expectations in terms of our record or our goals for the season," said Idland, who is entering his eighth season as head coach. "I expect the team to do the very best we can under all circumstances while we search for the best way for our team to win this season."
The Panthers open their season Friday against Wittenberg at the Capital University Tournament.
The Panthers return three players from last year's team that reached the AMCC Championship game. Jamie Christensen is expected to anchor the defense, Kaitlyn Donnelly returns at forward and Sarah Dailey will be in net for her sophomore season.
Christensen was named a player to watch by the AMCC prior to the start of the season. She is returning for her senior season following a successful junior year defensively for the Panthers. She started 16 games and proved to be a vital part of Pitt-Bradford's defensive unit, which allowed just 28 goals in 20 games.
"Jamie is a captain, and natural leader on and off the field," Idland said. "As a center back, she has a major impact on every aspect of the game for us."
Dailey returns for her sophomore season, following an outstanding freshman season in net for the Panthers. She earned all 15 of Pitt-Bradford's wins in net, posting a 1.26 goals against average and six shutouts.
"Sarah is one of the most talented goalkeepers the AMCC has seen in a long time, certainly in the last eight years," Idland said. "With a year of experience under her belt, I think that her quality is going to show consistently, game in and game out this season."
Donnelly also returns for her sophomore season following a terrific freshman year. She was a second team All-AMCC selection last season. She finished with one goal and six assists for a total of eight points.
"Don is a gifted playmaker, who can bring a creative spark to the attack individually," Idland said. "We are looking for her to find more consistency this season as she continues to mature as a college player."
Idland feels his team's biggest games this year will be against Franciscan, D'Youville, Pitt-Greensburg and Penn-State Behrend.
With the starting keeper and center back returning, the defense will be the Panthers' strength this season.
"I would like to think that we will be very difficult to score on with the quality of goalkeeper and defensive block that we have," Idland said. "We need to manage each game one play at a time and make ourselves very difficult to beat every single game, regardless of who we are playing."
