PLNU WOMEN'S SOCCER SEEKS NEW PATH IN 2024 SEASON

(SAN DIEGO) When you return 26 of 31 players from a national championship team, one might suggest that you try and keep the status quo.

But that’s not what PLNU Women’s Soccer team is looking to do in 2024, as Point Loma is looking to forge its own path this fall.

“We’ll tap into the experiences we've had but we recognize there are things that are different this year,” Head Coach Kristi Kiely said. “We have different players, players in different positions, different challenges and different opportunities this year.

“We actually don't want it to look like it did last year. I mean we’d love the outcome to be similar, but we don't want the path to look the same. In that way we have to approach it differently because last year's path wasn't easy and we know this year's won't be either. But we also recognize it takes a different mindset, a different mentality and a different vision to accomplish the things that we hope to accomplish.”

Point Loma will open the season ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll coming off a first NCAA national title in school history.

“We have to deal with the fact that while you're No. 1, everyone wants you to be knocked off,” Kiely said. “We can play with confidence and the recognition that it's going to be a battle each time we're out there.

“We have to figure out new ways of how to get through people, how to break them down and how to not get broken down. We have to make adjustments. We can't do it the same as we did last year, and we wouldn't want to.”

As dominant as PLNU’s run to the national championship was last season, winning 11-straight games to finish the season and not allowing a single goal in five postseason matches, it didn’t appear likely after a 3-2-1 start and a 2-2 mark to open its conference schedule.

“We don't want it to look the same because there was a point last season in October where we weren't sure if we were making the postseason,” Kiely said.

That in-season turnaround last year is just one of the many experiences the team can draw from ahead of the new campaign.

“We have a different target (on our back), but we also have a different toolbox,” Kiely said “We look at the step-by-step way of getting there, so this is what we need to do in these first 40 days, this is what we need to do in the second 40 days, and this is what it will look like at the end.

“There’s a learning of how to be a champion, but I think they've stepped into that very well. That’s what I love about them. They are great learners and are constantly asking questions. That's just who they are. If you can stay a learner, you're always going to be improving and getting better and that's where you want them to be.”

ROSTER

Not only is the team focused on growth in its mindset, but the squad has also grown in size, with the addition of six new players and five returning from season-ending injuries last year, which only increases competition for playing time.

“We've talked a lot as a team about trying to get out in front of the large roster,” Kiely said. “We’ve talked about keeping everyone's eyes focused on what is best for the group and what's going to get us to where we all want to go.

“I think I think we have a good mentality in that and a lot of good communications surrounding it. I think the meshing of the group has been great.”

Kiely said that her second team has been challenging the team’s projected starters throughout training camp, which has made lineup decisions that much more difficult ahead of the team’s season opener.

“That’s what you want,” Kiely said. “It's refining and exposing all the things you hope to learn from a game, but if you can learn that in training then you're in a pretty good spot. It’s been a lot of fun to have really good players to choose from and the faster we can get everyone firing at the same time the better, but I like the challenging and the competitiveness going on.”

The team features a group of seven fifth-year players, who had their 2020 season shortened because of Covid.

“What I appreciate about this senior class is they have led from a very young age, and they continue to do so collectively as a whole class,” Kiely said. “A good chunk of them start and see a lot of minutes, and that’s helpful. But it doesn't matter if they aren't, they are leading well because they get it.

“They understand the vision for the program, which is excellence, care, togetherness and that we're going to make an effort to be really good in the ways that we want to be really good.”

All-American center back Emma Thrapp, All-Region forward Alana Diaz, All-Region left back Naomi Ellis, All-PacWest forward Bethany Arabe, and All-PacWest midfielders Mara Sovde and Nicki Friedman will all play their final season of eligibility this fall.

Thrapp was also named the PacWest Defender of the Year a season ago, while Diaz led the team in scoring (8 goals) and Arabe paced the team in assists (8).

“We obviously have high hopes for those players,” Kiely said. “They have had many years playing together. They get it, they operate well together, and they understand each other. They love to play and they're they've been really good about bringing others into it.”

Junior goalkeeper Julia Pinnell is back after being selected to the All-Tournament Team at the NCAA Championships Team, having not allowed a goal in her last 915 minutes and 35 played.

The team also returns the last two PacWest Freshman of the Year in Zoe Crockett (2022), recently converted to a defender, and forward Nikki Ross (2023).

SCHEDULE

Point Loma opens its season on the road Thursday at 10 a.m. against Cal State San Marcos before hosting Central Washington on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center.

The team will then round out its non-conference schedule with away games at Cal Poly Pomona (Sep. 12) and Cal State LA (Sep. 14), followed by a home match against UCCS (Sep. 21) in a rematch of last year’s Elite 8.

Across its five non-conference matches before its PacWest schedule begins on Sep. 26 at Menlo, Point Loma plays three NCAA Tournament teams from last season, along with the projected favorite in the CCAA Conference this season.

“We always try to schedule a tough preseason,” Kiely said. “It's so good to learn and to make a statement even."

PLNU opens up conference play with three road matches before returning home on Oct. 5 to host Westmont.

The Sea Lions were picked first in the PacWest Preseason Poll, receiving 12 of 14 first place votes, and will look to win their fifth conference title in six seasons.

“I'm so excited for where our conference is at,” Kiely said of the expected challenge it will be to win the PacWest again this season. “We’ve sent multiple teams to the regional the last few years, so that part's exciting.”

After traveling to Azusa Pacific (Oct. 10), the Sea Lions will then play their next four at home against Concordia (Oct. 12), Hawai’i Pacific (Oct. 17), Chaminade (Oct. 26) and Biola (Nov. 2) before finishing the regular season on the road at Fresno Pacific (Nov. 7) and Academy of Art (Nov. 9).

The first-ever PacWest Championships will feature four teams and take place Nov. 14-16 at OC Great Park in Irvine.

The winner of the conference tournament will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA West Regional, which begins on Nov. 21.

The NCAA Championships will then conclude on Dec. 14 in Matthews, North Carolina, where Point Loma hoisted the trophy last season.

“I think people see our roster and they assume everything's going to be the same but we don't want it to be,” Kiely said. “In one way we do but in many ways we don't. Even the path to get there's different.

“We have a new path through the conference tournament, so that's something new and different. I think some of those pieces keep you fresh.”

For the team's full schedule, click HERE.