EVANSVILLE -- The defending Missouri Valley Tournament champions are back on campus as the University of Evansville women's soccer team started its preseason preparations for the 2016 season on Wednesday.
"It's good to be back and have the girls on campus," UE head coach Krista McKendree said. "Everyone, for the most part, is healthy, energized and ready to get to work. It was a good day overall."
"We used this first day to kind of see where everyone is at this point," she continued. "This gives us a chance to see how the new kids are fitting in, both technically and tactically. We can see how they're doing position-wise and figure out their strengths and weaknesses. For the returners, we can get a glimpse on the kind of growth that they had over the summer."
The Aces reported to camp earlier in the week before conducting a pair of practices on Wednesday.
"It was a good overall day," McKendree said. "The weather was fine. We got to be outside for both sessions, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
Camp will continue on Thursday as the team moves towards its first preseason exhibition match, which will take place against Murray State on Aug. 10 at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
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Summer of Soccer
Another reason for McKendree's optimism for this upcoming season is grounded in just how many Aces spent the majority of the summer playing soccer.
"We've been in a positive trend over the last couple of years with more and more of our girls finding good training and playing opportunities over the summer," McKendree said. "That helps with their fitness when they come back here, and it also helps with sharpness. The level was pretty good out there today, and overall, this is where we want the team to be in order to build towards the season."
For more information on the performances of a number of players this summer, click here.
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Ready for Primetime
Following Wednesday's practice, senior Bronwyn Boswell represented the Aces as 14 News' Paige Hagan did a live remote broadcast from the UE women's soccer team's watch party for the U.S. Women's National Team at the Olympics.
The USWNT, which is currently ranked No. 1 in the world, went on to win their opening match 2-0 over New Zealand.
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