Monroe, La. – It is a new era for ULM soccer as new head coach Keyton Wheelock looks to lead her squad into the 2016 campaign.
“I'm very excited to have this opportunity to make the decisions. It's a very stressful time because wins and losses fall on me,” said Wheelock. “I feel like I am ready and if I wasn't ready I would not have gotten the support from my previous head coach at South Alabama (Graham Winkworth),” Wheelock continued.
The Warhawks bring back a good mixture of experienced players to go along with the eight newcomers for the 2016 season.
Leading goal scorer Mary Ashton Lembo returns for her senior season as the team leader after finishing with three goals and a team leading eight points in the 2015 campaign. Fellow senior Whitney Tuckfield led the team with four assists from the returning crop of Warhawks.
“This year we are in a building year and a year moving forward. The girls know I have big expectations and we want to climb as quickly as possible but we will take it one game at a time,” Wheelock discussed when looking ahead to this season.
“Our goals for this season are to improve and take that next step forward towards making it to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.”
Goalkeepers
The Warhawks return both of their keepers from 2015 in Brooke-Lynn Scroggins and Julia Idalis Gonzalez. Scroggins ranked second in saves and third in save percentage amongst all Sun Belt keepers last year while Gonzalez led the conference in save percentage and was second in the Sun Belt in goals against.
“They have done a good job in preseason pushing each other and I'm looking forward to seeing how they compete in non-conference,” commented Wheelock.
The goalkeepers are an area that have been a key focus for Wheelock, as the coach played a majority of her career as a goalkeeper while a student athlete at Concordia University, St. Paul.
Defenders
On the backline, ULM returns a good mixture of experience and new faces to start this season as the group includes two of the five seniors this year (Emely Portillo-Segovia & Whitney Tuckfield) as well as some new faces like Alexiss Trudeau and Evan Rooney.
“We've got competition there with both returners and freshman and I think they are working together well and we are improving every day,” commented Wheelock.
Midfielders
This year's group of midfielders features the top returning offensive threat in Mary Ashton Lembo, who had three goals and eight points last year, both team bests from the group as a whole. The midfield, much like the defenders, features some new faces mixed in with some veterans as that group returns Kylie Kukowski who has 50 games of experience to bring to a group that includes true freshman Amanda Castillo who will get her first taste of ULM soccer this season.
“I'm looking forward to seeing that group compete we have a lot of competition in the midfield this year,” said Wheelock.
Forwards
The front line of the Warhawks offense is one of the youngest groups on the team that is mixed in with a bit of veteran leadership from senior Nancy Kirk Herrington who will lead the younger group with Cke'Lana Caesar, Mia Walters and Payton Vega joining Herrington up front.
“I'm excited to see what they can do on the ball,” commented Wheelock about the young pieces of her front line.
