WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College women's soccer team will be tested right away in 2018, as the Pride will play three games in four days before settling into a normal schedule the rest of the season.
Head coach Mike Webber enters his third year at the helm looking to bring the Pride back above the .500 mark after a 5-10-1 season in 2017. Regis posted a 3-7-1 mark within the GNAC to finish in ninth place and miss the GNAC Tournament, and the Pride will hope to exceed the expectations of the conference coaches after finishing 10th in the preseason poll.
Webber welcomes 17 players back from the 2017 squad, led by Third Team All-GNAC selection Payton Fitzgerald (Danielson, Conn.), the team leader with eight goals and 18 total points last season. In fact, the top four goal scorers from last year are back for the Pride, with Rachel Kelly (Whitman, Mass.) and Emma Mendes (Pawtucket, R.I.) scoring five goals apiece and Emily Lange (Ashland, Mass.) contributing three goals.
Regis will also have experience in the backline, as senior Jenna Novio (Rockland, Mass.) and junior Noelle Garcia (Los Angeles, Calif.) both return after starting all 16 matches last season and earning two assists apiece. Abby Flaherty (Millbury, Mass.) started 11 of the 12 matches she appeared in and is also expected to make contributions both in the midfield and in the Pride defensive zone.
Kyrsten Drake (Loganville, Ga.) started all 16 matches in goal as a freshman last season, posting a 1.91 goals against average and a .756 save percentage. She shut out two conference opponents last year and was named GNAC Goalkeeper of the Week once during the season. However, there are two freshmen, Oriana Attridge (Westwood, Mass.) and Angie Caldwell (Goffstown, N.H.), who plan to challenge for the starting keeper job.
Regis opens the season on the road against Maine-Farmington Saturday, Sept. 1, starting at 2:30 p.m. The Beavers finished sixth in the North Atlantic Conference last year with a 4-5 league record as part of a 7-11 overall mark. In last year's season opener, Maine-Farmington defeated Regis, 2-1, even though the Pride outshot the Beavers, 25-10.
The Pride immediately returns to campus for the home opener Sunday, Sept. 2, against Emerson starting at 6 p.m. at Regis Stadium. The Lions posted a 3-11-2 mark in 2017, including a 3-7 record within the NEWMAC. This will be the fifth meeting all-time between Regis and Emerson, with the Lions holding a 3-0-1 series advantage.
Two nights later, Regis is back on the pitch, this time hosting Eastern Nazarene at Regis Stadium Tuesday, Sept. 4, beginning at 7 p.m. The Lions are coming off a 6-12 campaign in 2017, including a 1-8 record within the NECC. This will be the 18th contest all-time between Regis and Eastern Nazarene, but the first since the 2014 season, with Eastern Nazarene holding an 11-5-1 series lead.
After the Eastern Nazarene match, Regis will settle into a consistent schedule of playing every Saturday and Wednesday until Senior Day against Framingham State Tuesday, Oct. 23. The GNAC Tournament will begin with the quarterfinals Saturday, Oct. 27, followed by the semifinals Wednesday, Oct. 31, and the championship match Saturday, Nov. 3, to determine the league's representative to the NCAA Tournament.