Laura Anderson / Winonan

In the 2016 NSIC Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the young Winona State University women’s soccer team was voted to finish in third place for the 2016 season.

Coach Ali Omar has been coaching the Winona State women’s soccer team for 22 years. Each year is different, and he said this incoming young team, aside from previous teams, excites him due to the skills they came to Winona with.

“There’s something different about this group that I feel that is going to take us a long way. They are coming already skilled and they have the tools so we just need to refine them,” Omar said.

The 2016 women’s soccer roster includes 12 freshmen, three red shirt freshmen, nine sophomores, three juniors and two seniors.

“For the 2016 season, I believe as a team we are going to have a successful year. With such a young team, I feel that other teams in our conference are going to underestimate our skill,” captain Meg Riebau said. “We are all very excited to see what we can do once we start our non-conference and conference play. Every player is working hard to make this team a better and more successful team.”

Captains Riebau and Kenzie Rose are the only seniors on the team. They gained these positions by having leadership skills.

“Because we only have two seniors and seven total upperclassmen, we have a lot of young, talented players looking to us for support and encouragement. While we are a young team, it is our responsibility to hold them to high expectations in order for everyone to reach their full potential,” Riebau said.

The team will have 17 days of practice before the first game of the year. They had two-a-day practices for the first four days in the summer. When classes started they had to count hours, and teams cannot practice more than 20 hours a week.

The team wanted to get on the field and start practice, but there is protocol. Before stepping foot on the field, they have meetings for NCAA guidelines, pass physical and concussion tests and complete paperwork.

“It is longest day of my life because we really want to get soccer started, but we know it’s important because we have to make sure the players are taken care of and covered,” Omar said.

The Warriors’ goal for this season is one game and one week at a time.

“Everyone is going to tell you that they want to go win a conference championship, a tournament, or the NCAA. Those are given. That is what we want, but we are never going to get there unless we take it one week at a time,” Omar said.

Riebau’s goal is to push her teammates to their fullest potential, keep a positive attitude and give support and encouragement.

“One of my goals for the season is to push everyone to give their maximum effort, while still holding them accountable for their actions. I also want my teammates to give maximum effort every practice and game while keeping a positive attitude,” Riebau said.

Winona State was on the field for its first scrimmage on Monday, Aug. 22 against Luther College where the Warriors won 2-1.

The first scrimmage is a learning process for both the players and the coaches. The coaches are looking to change lineups and see if different combinations between different players work more efficiently.

“It’s a young team coming in and they are learning the new terminology that the coaches use. They all played for different coaches. Everything they learned is right, but we refer to it differently,” Omar said.

During the second half of the first scrimmage, the players understood what went wrong in the first half and executed the plays they have relearned during practices.

“They will come off the field and they will ask questions. They know if something went wrong and they will own up to it, which is very refreshing. As a coach it makes my job much easier,” Omar said.

The Eagles visited Winona for another scrimmage Thursday, Aug. 25 and the Warriors won 2-0. On Saturday, Aug. 27, the Warriors visited University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for the third and final scrimmage.

The Warriors’ first regular season match is Friday Sept. 2 at Michigan Tech.

Winona State women’s soccer team will compete with Ferris State on Sunday, Sept. 11 in their first home match.