With a new head coach aboard, the women’s soccer team excitedly kicked off the season.

“The tie with Methodist was a highlight because they had always historically beaten Guilford. This was the first year they hadn’t beaten us. We’ve done a great job getting the offense going,” said senior captain Alex Hutton, who, along with teammate Kimberly Mullen, has been named ODAC player of the week during the season.

One unusual aspect of this year’s team is the abundance of new players. Of the 11 regular starters, six of them are new.

“Sometimes I get frustrated because we are not all used to each other’s style of playing,” said first-year Heather Ruggiero. “We still need to come together as a team more, but that will come with time.”

Coach Eric Lewis appears to be doing a fantastic job of laying down the foundations and blending in the new players.

“He is probably the best coach I’ve had because he’s not obsessed with winning,” said first-year Alissa VanZee-Phillips. “He realizes that we are a young team, and pushes us to play with heart at every moment of every game…that’s what winning comes down to.desire.”

“He is excellent; he really is a great coach,” sophomore Kimberly Mullen said.

Over the summer, Lewis works with a North Carolina women’s soccer camp sponsored by UNC Chapel Hill. There was a vacancy in the UNC Chapel Hill schedule, so Lewis booked a game with Guilford.

Unlike Guilford, UNC Chapel Hill offers full athletic scholarships and at the time was ranked first in the NCAA Division I for women’s soccer. Guilford was up against the very best – a challenge the team had not faced since 1984, when Guilford last played Chapel Hill.

“The UNC game was definitely the experience of a lifetime. Even though the crowd in the bleachers was full of UNC students yelling at us, the rush of energy was unforgettable,” VanZee-Phillips said. “The one thing about the game that I really appreciated wasn’t even on the field . one of the fans came up to us after the game and told us he respected us for not giving up.”

The team’s record thus far is 7-8-2. “We have the potential to do better,” first-year Danielle Brisotti said, “but so far it’s been a very big record-breaking season.