When third-year Stetson women's soccer head coach Manoj Khettry looks at the 2015 Hatters, he sees a team and a program that has made tremendous strides over the last two years. And he especially likes what he sees as the Hatters near the start of a new campaign.

“This team's chemistry, attitude and willingness to train and learn are fantastic,” said Khettry. “As a coaching staff we all enjoy coming to work every day and getting the opportunity to work with them. They are fun to be around and they are very coachable. We're further along than we were at this point last year.”

Khettry has a young squad, one which features 16 freshmen and sophomores and just seven upperclassmen. He knows that Stetson's success this year will depend heavily on the continued development of his youngest athletes.

“What we've seen in the early going is a tremendous amount of growth for our freshmen from last year,” he said. “I see real maturity and physical, technical and tactical development from that group. And we have a pretty talented group of freshmen, too.”

With so much inexperience, Khettry knows that veteran leadership will be an important piece of the puzzle this year.

“Our upperclassmen have improved since last year as well,” Khettry said. “I've seen a lot of growth from those who are back.”

But it's more than just growth, Khettry said. This year's senior class seems to be more driven to leave a positive mark on the program.

“Our seniors want to be leaders and they want to be role models and leave the younger players with something positive to build on.”

While Khettry and the Hatters will rely on youth, they do have a strong core of returning players. Seniors Mara Keomanivane, Autumn Matthews and preseason all-conference selection Makeshia Lucien are back, as are fellow seniors Danielle Hurme and Jenna Premo.

The Hatters were 5-12-1 a season ago and missed the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament after posting a 2-5-0 conference record. Khettry said that obviously the Hatters want to return to the post-season, but he also has bigger goals. Stetson was picked sixth in the recently released A-Sun preseason poll.

“I want a winning season, especially since this program has only had four winning seasons in 22 years,” Khettry said. “I think this program is ready for that.”

In order for that to happen, the Hatters will have to excel and improve in several areas.

“We need solid and consistent play from our goalkeepers,” said Khettry. “And we need some leadership up front. Our reserves are good. There isn't much of a drop off when the bench comes into the game.”

The Hatters open the season on Friday when they host Florida Atlantic, 7 p.m., at the Athletic Training Center.

--SU--