After several seasons of high turnover rates and large freshman classes, the women’s soccer team, now five games into the tenure of coach Steve Springthorpe, is starting to take shape.

“Certainly, as a new coach and coaching staff coming in, we are excited about the direction of the team and how hard the girls are working,” Springthrope said.

Sophomore forward Paige Dugal pointed out the toughness of the seniors on this year’s team, who have stepped up into leadership roles.

“The seniors have stepped up a lot because they know it is their last year. We have so much potential this year to make a really big impact and improve,” Dugal said.

Springthorpe has encouraged the seniors to take this larger role since he arrived on campus earlier this year.

“I talked with the seniors in the spring, got together and challenged them. This is their team, their opportunity,” Springthorpe said. “I want that class to be the one to lead us through and start that for us.”

Alex Berger, Chantalle Dugas and Katie Ruiz, a junior and two seniors respectively, have taken a greater leap above the rest and into the captain roles on Springthorpe’s squad.

“They have great leadership qualities,” Springthorpe said.

It is not just the upperclassmen that are rising to the occasion. The entire team has had to work hard and come together after the graduation of both of last year’s captains, four-year starters Lindsay Vera and Tami Krzeszewski, Dugal said.

“Lindsay and Tami were great leaders on the field,” Dugal said. “We’re all stepping up and being individual leaders now.”

The loss of Vera and Krzeszewski was remedied in part since the team had no other graduating seniors. Former coach Laura Kerrigan had been dealing with a number of players quitting over the past few seasons, leading to inexperienced teams overall. For example, out of the 13 player freshman class in 2007, only six remain on the team today. But Dugal said that this trend is changing under Springthorpe.

“Since it is a fresh slate and we start over new, I don’t think as many people will be dropping off,” Dugal said. “We have more dedication.”

In addition, Dugal said the sophomore class has actually vowed not to quit the team.

“I know my class has made a pact that no one else is dropping off,” Dugal said.

The team has drawn together and seems to be making real progress, according to Dugal.

“We are all really excited about [this season]. We are closer than ever as a team this year. Each practice we work even harder and draw closer as a team,” she said.

This culture change has occurred since the very beginning of Springthorpe’s tenure, according to freshman midfielder Kara Blosser.

“One of the first things we did during the preseason was we went to the beach and we made this list of goals and everything that we wanted to accomplish over the next season,” Blosser said. “We put it up in our locker room and we see it every day so when we look at it we see our goals and what we need to accomplish.”

But despite the new attitude within the women’s soccer program, only time will tell how if it will translate into ACC success.

“We definitely have the potential to do [better in the ACC]. We’re being realistic — we know we are not going to win every game in the ACC, but we do have the confidence that we will continually improve, be relevant and make a statement,” Dugal said. “[Springthorpe] wants us to leave a statement after every game that we fought harder than any team, even if we are down and losing, we never stop and we never quit. And if we fight hard we will improve, get better and start winning games.”