HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University women's soccer team begins the 2017 season on Thursday, August 31, heading to Due West, S.C. to face the Erskine Flying Fleet at 5 p.m. The following is a comprehensive preview of the 2017 campaign, featuring a position-by-position analysis of the team, quotes from first-year head coach Sean Fraser and more.   
 
Quick Hits
 
- For the first time in 14 years, the Lady Railsplitters will be under new leadership as head coach Sean Fraser is set to begin his first season in Harrogate. Fraser came to Lincoln Memorial after serving as the Assistant Men's Soccer Coach at the University of Charleston last season. With Fraser on staff, the Golden Eagles went 19-3-2 and finished as the national runners-up.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters return 13 players that appeared in a minimum of 75 percent of the team's matches last season. That group includes midfielder Alyssa Berry, defender Caroline Temple, defender Jacquelyn Christoph, forward Caroline Souza, forward Melissa Carpenter, defender Gabby Garcia, defender Kate Zander and midfielder Isa Jara, who started at least 10 matches apiece.
 
- In total, Lincoln Memorial brings back 19 letterwinners from the 2016 campaign.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters finished the 2016 season with a 3-10-2 overall record. Despite opening South Atlantic Conference play with a 1-0 win over Brevard, the Lady Railsplitters missed the SAC tournament for the first time since 2006, when Lincoln Memorial was ineligible for postseason play while completing the transition from the Gulf South Conference to the SAC.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters lost three of the last four matches of the 2016 season by a single goal, a stretch that included a 1-0 double overtime loss at Mars Hill, a 3-2 overtime setback to Anderson and a 1-0 defeat at Carson-Newman, who earned a share of the SAC regular-season title and finished with a 17-4-1 overall record.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2007 season, when they went 15-5-1. That team finished just one win shy of matching the 2005 squad for the program's single-season record.
 
- Lincoln Memorial brought in five new players during the offseason in forward Elizabeth Chesek, midfielders Mariana Diaz and Lea Scharf, and defenders Ellie Hilton and Teagan Allen. The Lady Railsplitters will also get a boost from the return of Amanda Perez, Patricia Roach and Khalia Rainey, who each missed all of last season due to injury.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters will play six of their first nine matches of the season at the LMU Soccer Complex, including a flurry of three games over a seven-day stretch against Tennessee Wesleyan, USC Aiken and Young Harris. A complete preview of the 2017 schedule can be found here.
 
Position-by-Position Breakdown
 
Defenders:
 
Lincoln Memorial's talented collection of defenders is led by senior middle back Gabby Garcia and junior middle back Caroline Temple, who combined for 28 starts and over 2,500 minutes of playing time last season. One of two players to start all 15 matches last season, Temple was selected as a team captain by the coaching staff.
 
That duo will be supported on the sides primarily by junior Courtney Boyd, sophomores Kate Zander and Kaitlyn Tisch, and talented freshman Ellie Hilton. As part of Fraser's system, this quartet will be tasked with playing a vital role in the team's offensive output.
 
"The full backs will get as high as anybody up the field," Fraser said. "There's a lot of offense that comes from them. I would say that they are really offensive players with a deeper starting position."
 
The defensive unit will also benefit from the depth provided by sophomore Jacquelyn Christoph, junior Samantha Brumm and Rainey, who is back healthy for her final season in the Blue and Gray. Christoph played in all 15 matches last season, ranking second on the team in total minutes played
 
The Lady Railsplitters also added freshman Teagan Allen to that mix.
 
"They are all comfortable on the ball," Fraser said of the team's collection of defenders. "That allows us to be able to play through them or go back to the defenders to use them as players that can break lines or play continuation passes."
 
Midfielders
 
The midfield will be in the capable hands and feet of juniors Alyssa Berry and Isa Jara and freshman Mariana Diaz.
 
"For me, the midfield is our deepest group," Fraser said. "We've got good depth with each position."
 
Berry was the only player other than Temple to start all 15 matches last season, logging one goal and one assist while spending a team-high 1,378 minutes on the pitch. Through the spring and preseason training, she has quickly adapted to the new system of play.
 
"Alyssa has grown into that number 6 position, physically as well as technically. She understands the types of passes and movements that we are looking for from her," said Fraser.
 
Diaz, a freshman from nearby Halls High School in Knoxville, Tenn., is expected to start right from the jump, and she has impressed in the preseason so far.
 
"Mariana has been excellent so far, a fantastic piece to the puzzle," said Fraser. "She has a great range of passing, tackles well and can press defensively. She has great energy, is passionate and a soccer fiend."
 
After making 12 appearances and 10 starts as a sophomore, Jara will be leaned on heavily to execute both offensively and defensively. With a relentless motor and solid instincts for the game, the Miami, Fla. native has the ability to keep opposing offenses pinned in their defensive end as the lynchpin of the Lady Railsplitters' defensive scheme that promotes defending from the top.
 
"I can't speak more highly of Isa," Fraser said. "It's funny that I say this as the number 10, but Isa is our best defensive player. The amount of times she wins the ball at midfield as a number 10 is amazing."
 
That group also features juniors Amanda Perez, who is returning from a season-ending injury in 2016, Kelsey Stafford and Allyson Flock, sophomores Kaitlyn Waddle and Rachel Grant, and Universitat Konstanz transfer Lea Scharf.
 
Stafford is the leading returning among that group, as she made 12 appearances with three starts as a sophomore.
 
Forwards
 
At the forward position, the Lady Railsplitters return the team's top three point scorers and four of the top five overall off of last season's team in junior Caroline Souza, senior Melissa Carpenter, junior Hanna Ratliff and junior Palisa Chipendo.
 
Souza, who is making the transition from the midfield, was named to the All-SAC honorable squad after leading the Lady Railsplitters with four goals and two assists in 2016. She will leaned upon for even more production this season, her first as a forward.
 
"Offensively, she's a great target player with her back to goal because she can retain the ball and bring other people into play," said Fraser. "I think that was reflected in the spring when she had eight or nine assists and five or six goals. She's very dynamic."  
 
Carpenter tallied three goals and an assist while leading the team in shots (33) and shots on goal (15) last season, while Ratliff posted two goals and an assist over 10 appearances. Chipendo appeared in 14 matches and recorded a goal and an assist.
 
Among the newcomers on the team, freshman Elizabeth Chesek has made a strong early impression. The 5-0 forward from Memphis, Tenn. will play a pivotal role as either a starter or a change-of-pace presence off the bench.
 
"Elizabeth has been phenomenal. For me, she's been one of our best players since day one," Fraser said. "In the 15 training sessions and the game, she's got to be up there as one of the best players we have had."
 
The Lady Railsplitters will also have some depth at the forward position courtesy of Patricia Roach's return from injury. Roach missed the entire 2016 campaign, but scored 18 goals and added seven assists during the 2015 season at Mt. San Jacinto Community College.   
 
Sophomores Stephanie Cawthorne and Lexie Kavoian will also have opportunities to contribute off the bench. Cawthorne made 12 appearances and one start as freshman last season.
 
Goalkeepers
 
The only significant departure off of last season's team was senior goalie Kathryn Lundy, who started 12 of 15 appearances while accumulating 85 saves and an .802 save percentage in 2016. Lundy was especially dominant down the closing stretch by holding opponents to a goal or less in six of the last seven matches of the season.
 
Despite that loss, the Lady Railsplitters are set in goal with the return of junior Brooke Taylor. A native of nearby White Pine, Tenn., Taylor made eight appearances and three starts last season, compiling 25 saves and a save percentage of nearly 70 percent.
 
As part of Fraser's system, Taylor will play a major role in the build up and the team's possession-oriented attack.
 
"She knows what we want in terms of passing and possession. She can start attacks as well."
 
Taylor will be pushed by sophomore Leanna Hendrix, a 5-9 native of Cumming, Ga.
 
Final Thoughts from Sean Fraser
 
"I like where we are defensively and I like where we are in the build-up phase. This week we are trying to improve in the final third and our attacking side of the game. We have it in us, but it just takes a little more time. The kids are coachable, and that's the best thing to have.
 
"The way we defend, I think we are up there with anybody. Anyone who has watched or has seen any of the 11 games we've played since I've been here will notice a progression. We've improved every time. Along with that, the best form of defending is to have the ball. That's a big thing for us. I like the ball, I like to move it and wear down opponents.
 
"We've got coachable kids that are taking on board what we want. They are buying into a style that we are trying to do and they are working as hard as they can to produce. Sooner rather than later we are going to reach peak levels."