HARROGATE, Tenn. — Chatter is beginning to accumulate.
 
There wasn't much a season ago — from the outside that is.
 
The inner circle of the Lincoln Memorial University women's soccer team knew what it was capable of.  A regular-season second-place finish followed by a South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship backed up that notion, and then a Southeast Regional championship and Sweet 16 appearance more than solidified the internal hype.
 
But LMU, who has been tabbed as the No. 19-ranked team in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll and No. 1 in the SAC Preseason Coaches Poll heading into its away season opener versus Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C., at 11 a.m. Thursday — isn't even a little bit satisfied.
 
"The expectation here from day one has always been we win every single game that we play," LMU third-year head coach Sean Fraser said, "and we win it our style of play — playing within our game model and our structure and we've never deviated from that. What we try to do as coaches is, we adequately communicate what the process is. We don't necessarily talk about expectation or rules — we don't really do much of that.
 
"Most of what we talk about is the process and what you have to do during the process to get to where you want to be. We find that helps to create buy-in. It's been good so far and it's been fun. The players are certainly responding to the methods we are trying to use."
 
On the Road
 
Make no mistake about it, Fraser hit the recruiting trail hard when he took over a three-win team in 2017. His inaugural squad won just seven matches — losing five of its 10 by one goal —but once he was able to go through a full recruiting cycle, the impact was more than noticeable.
 
In his second season, the Lady Railsplitters doubled their win total (14) for the most wins since the 2007 team won 15 matches en route to LMU creating a national name for itself.
 
The turnaround was spearheaded by Fraser and his pair of graduate assistant coaches, Will Roberts and Andrea Cattaneo, and their ability to pinpoint high-character players for their program with the focus of selling a specific style of play and the team vision.  
 
"Whenever we recruit players, we always really look at them as people as much as we can," Fraser said. "We just sell the process and let our personalities as coaches reflect what we are doing and just project that across to them. They can see we are a committed coaching staff — we try to be funny, energetic. We are trying to play a progressive style of soccer.
 
"Ultimately above all of that, it is a great education and institution — we want to do right by them as people so when you can articulate that to them it makes it an easier sell. We've worked really hard on it and who and what we want to recruit, but at the same time it's a process."
 
Safe to say so far, it's worked like a charm.
 
Back for More
 
In what were key additions a season ago, forwards Itzel Ballesteros and Jessica Cravero aren't strangers anymore.  
 
The lethal tandem busted out on the scene as Ballesteros scored 14 goals and added 11 assists, while Cravero earned herself SAC Freshman of the Year honors following a 43-point, 19-goal and five-assist rookie campaign.
 
Fraser expects more of the same from the duo that molded the new-and-improved Lady Railsplitters, but he also knows opponents won't be caught off-guard this go-around.
 
"What we have also indicated to them is that they have targets on their backs," he said. "Not just the target that we are starting the season ranked nationally and No. 1 in the conference—we don't care about that—but other people will look at that and say, 'This is a marquee team,' and obviously those two.
 
"Everybody is looking at those two and saying, 'Wow, those two are the two up top that we have to try and stop.' They have to know that, and teams are going to be a little bit more prepared to stop them."
 
Also returning at the forward position are sophomores Rachel Taylor and Ashlyn Miller, while the midfielder position has both of last year's starters back in All-SAC Preseason First Team members Mariana Diaz and Maria Hernandez. Last season's heroic penalty-kick shootout solidifier, Amanda Perez, is poised for her final season alongside senior Hernandez and the junior Diaz.
 
The defense has sophomore returners Fabienne Loetscher, an All-SAC Preseason Second Team member, Lauren Wood and Daisy Drake, along with seniors Mikayla Vang and Jessica Steen, to pair with the largest recruiting class to come through Harrogate.
 
"We were fortunate. We brought in a massive recruiting class," Fraser said. "I think it was 23 players in total and we brought in quite a few last year, as well. Retention has been pretty good, so we have a bigger roster than the school has ever had, and I think our roster is significantly higher than anybody else in the conference, as well.
 
"What that is doing is adding competition and added a responsibility to everyone, especially the returners that are trying to drive a continuous culture."
 
Talented Mentality  

This haul of players will fill any gaps that existed a year ago.
 
Fraser couldn't stop grinning when speaking of the women he's added to what was already talented group.
 
"I could go on forever about this recruiting class; we have some fantastic players," he said.
 
The LMU head coach started with a player — Sydney Wolfenbarger — who he's had signed since he took over the helm at LMU, saying the Seymour defender has the build, physique and brain which illustrates the type of player the Lady Railsplitters want on the pitch on any given day.
 
Another local player in forward Lexi Bearden, an Alcoa native, had an outstanding high school career and has impressed so far, soaking in knowledge behind two proven collegiate players in Cravero and Ballesteros.
 
Next, he commented on a pair of juniors — Graciela Palencia and Theoni Zervas — who begin their seasons at LMU after two eye-popping years at another college, which is the exact path Ballesteros took.
 
Last season at Lake Tahoe Community College, Palencia scored six goals while passing across 10 assists; meanwhile, new teammate Zervas netted 17 goals and 37 assists at Monroe CC.
 
"Graciela Palencia, to me, was one of the best players in community college last season, alongside Theoni," Fraser said.
 
Now the high-volume contributors are Lady Railsplitters as well as national champion Emanuely Costa, who was on Bridgeport's national championship team a year ago. The goalkeeper transfers in as an immediate starter and the same can be said about midfielder Ermelinda Pantaleao.  Already named a captain, the two-time conference championship winner at the University of Northwestern Ohio brings her leadership and intensity to match Diaz in the middle of the field for LMU.
 
"Mentality is good so far," Fraser said. "It all bodes well, and I could go on all day about every single recruit and be here all day. That's in a nutshell what we have."
 
Those added core players are just the beginning of what LMU aims to mix in with its returners, with the hopes of keeping last season's success rolling. In doing so and not fast-forwarding to the end result — being a national champion — and keeping it in perspective, Fraser and his assistants have added more than just soccer to the everyday agenda.
 
In what the LMU staff calls a "Leadership Series," they have implemented it with the idea of allowing players and coaches to speak about the mentality of what a championship level really takes.
 
Fraser knows the talent is there — now he wants to make sure his Lady Railsplitters are ready to turn their mentality into a legacy.
 
"It's tough not to focus on the end result because we are in an instant-gratification culture now," Fraser said. "It's all about instant results and instant rewards. It's really difficult. Constant communication is important and the correct people who are going to focus.
 
"The physiological or mental side of sports is so underrated. Everybody just thinks it's technical, tactical or physical, and yes there are those three components, but the physiological and physiological social part is so important. That's where we've done a lot of our work in trying to maintain focus and concentration. Short-term goals, medium-term goals and long-term goals are important, but you have to understand the day-to-day is where you earn your stripes."
 
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms —@LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram — for complete coverage of Lady Railsplitter soccer leading up to the 2019 season.
 
-LMU-