LAKELAND - Florida Southern is set to open up its fifth season of play on Thursday, Feb. 18 as they play host to 15th-ranked Grand Valley State in a 7 p.m. game at Bryant Stadium.
The Moccasins will look to build off of the success they achieved a season ago as the team won a school record 19 games and finished with a 19-4 overall record and earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Along the way, the Mocs also captured the inaugural Sunshine State Conference regular season title, won the Division II national statistical championship for caused turnover (13.7) and set new program records for goals (360), points (569), assists (209), draw controls (318).
Florida Southern's hopes for a repeat trip to the NCAA Tournament will depend how this year's team develops its chemistry and uses its depth, according to fifth year head coach Kara Reber.
The Mocs four seniors last season - Megan Asper, Caitlin Chase, Lorianne Hoover and Meghan Colucci - combined to score 169 of the team's school record 360 goals (47 percent) and also accounted for 269 of its school record 569 points in 2015. Three of those four seniors were named All-Americans a season ago as Asper was a first team honoree, while Chase and Hoover were tabbed second team All-Americans.
"I think offensively, we should have a good variety of players that will contribute," the Mocs coach said. "I think last year you could tell that 300 of our 500 points were by three players, but I expect it will be more difficult to figure out who to guard and who to really key on offensively, because I think all seven players on offense will contribute equally."
That depth was on display in the Moccasins' exhibition game on Tuesday against the Wales National Team. In that game, 10 different Mocs scored goals and 13 different players took shots on the offensive end of the field. Two Mocs, sophomore midfielder Emily Santoli (Fort Salonga, N.Y.) and junior attacker Kendall Kerge (Edgewater, Md.) each scored two goals and combined for 11 of FSC's 31 shots in the 14-12 exhibition loss.
"I think the key to our team this year is really just the chemistry and having everybody be able to play with anybody, because I think the depth that we have this year is better than we've ever had since the program began and we aren't going to have to rely upon just one or two people," said Reber, who is 58-14 at the helm of the Moccasin program. "We need to get our team used to playing with every single person on the team, because I don't think they will consistently see the same people on offense or the same people around them on defense."
One of the top returners on offense is Santoli, who was third on the team in goals scored with 41 and was fourth in points (52) a year ago as a freshman. Santoli, who was Third-Team IWLCA All-South Region selection in 2015, was one of three Mocs returning that scored 25 or more goals last season.
"I think everyone knows that Emily Santoli is probably one of our key offensive players coming back. Ashley Robertson, Kendall Kerge and Shannon Gilfedder were all starters last year who received All-Conference recognition, so I think all of them coming back is definitely good for our offense."
In addition to Santoli, senior attacker Ashley Robertson (Ellicott City, Md.) and Kerge combined to score 67 goals and 80 points a season ago. Robertson scored 38 goals and had eight assists for 46 points and Kerge scored 29 goals and had five assists for 34 points. A third returner on offense is sophomore attacker Shannon Gilfedder (Longwood, Fla.), who scored 12 goals and had 20 assists for 32 points last year.
While the Moccasin offense will have to find replacements for three of the top performers in school history, the Mocs defense this season should still be a huge factor this season.
"I think we've got a lot of leadership and experience back on the defensive end," Reber said.
One of the top returners for the Mocs on defense is senior Gabby Barowski (Alexandria, Va.). Barowski, who was a Preseason Division II Player of the Year nominee by Lacrosse Magazine, was second on the team in caused turnovers with 52. Along with Barowski, the Mocs will also benefit by the return of redshirt sophomore Parrisa Sakinejad, who was an All-Region performer as a freshman, but sat out the 2015 season as a redshirt. As a freshman in 2014, Sakinejad recorded 49 ground balls and caused 24 turnovers in 17 games.
Two other key defenders returning are seniors Nicole Bellini and Rachael Griffith. Those two players combined to cause 31 turnovers and record 55 ground balls.
"This team is so competitive and that has led to a lot of battles in practice and that will do nothing but help our players out as the season progresses," the Mocs coach added.
The Mocs will need to find a new goalkeeper this season as SSC co-Freshman of the Year Ashley Seborowski is now longer on the team. Despite the absence of Seborowski in the pipes, Reber's team will still be in good hands, though, as both of the team's other goalkeepers on the roster each saw playing time last season.
"We have two goalies this year, both returning players for us - Taylor Gillis and Paige Brodbeck," said Reber. "Taylor has seen time since her freshman year as the back-up goalie and we're looking for her to kind of step up into that starting position. Obviously, Paige has improved tremendously and I think that both of them have improved and will help out this year. I think that either one of them could get the job done for us on any given day."
Last season, Gillis, who is a Bel Air, Md., native, saw action in 14 games and allowed 53 goals and recorded 44 saves and had a 7.72 goals allowed average, while Brodbeck, who is a native of Millersville, Md., played in three games and allowed just three goals in a little over 46 minutes of action.
One thing that hasn't changed for Reber was scheduling as once again this season the Mocs have put together one of the toughest schedules in Division II.
Eight of the 18 teams on Florida Southern's 2016 regular season schedule were ranked in the Preseason IWLCA Division II Coaches' Poll, including four of its first seven foes being ranked inside the Top 15 of the poll.
"We're very excited about the strength of the competition at the beginning of our schedule with playing Grand Valley State and two-time defending national champion Adelphi," the Mocs coach said. "I think it will help us to figure out where were at and what we can improve upon to win the South Region games that we need to win."
In addition, 11 of those 18 games will be played at Bryant Stadium. In fact, the Mocs will play its first seven games at home and won't play on the road until facing Hamilton in Bradenton on March 17.
"We schedule our opponents to give us an opportunity to compete at the highest level," said Reber when asked about her team's schedule. "Our goal is to win the conference, get a bid to the NCAA Tournament and be able to play for a national championship."
Florida Southern's opponent on Thursday, Grand Valley State, is looking to repeat last season's success as they finished with a 15-4 record and captured its third straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title with a 7-0 record and finished ranked 14th in the final IWLCA Division II poll.
The Lakers, who were tabbed as a favorite to repeat in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches' poll, returns nine starters and 24 letterwinners from last season's squad.
Among the key returners for the Lakers are junior midfielder Erika Neumen, junior midfielder Ryan Skomial and senior midfielder Carolyn Kraus.
Neumen, who was named a Preseason IWLCA All-American, set new school records a season ago in points (91) and goals (75) and was named the GLIAC Tournament MVP. Skomial was named a First-Team All-GLIAC selection as he was second on the team in points (53) and assists (28) and scored 25 goals and Kraus was third on the team in draw controls (56) and was second in ground balls (31) and also added 22 goals and five assists.
Another key returner for GVSU is junior goalie Sarah Zwilsky. In 2015, she won 15 games and ranked seventh nationally in goals-against average (7.32) and ninth in save percentage (49.1 percent).
The Lakers are led by fifth-year head coach Alicia Groveston. In her four years with the Lakers, Groveston has recorded a 51-21 record and is a three-time GLIAC Coach of the Year and was named the 2015 IWLCA North Region Coach of the Year.
"I like opening the season up against a North Region opponent and I think Grand Valley is going to be a phenomenal opponent. I think it's going to be a really competitive game for both teams," Reber said. "I think by playing a competitive North Region game in the beginning of the year is good for both of us because hopefully it won't hurt either of us come NCAA selection time."
Following Thursday's season opener, the Mocs will remain home for a 7 p.m. game on Monday, Feb. 22 against two-time reigning Division II National Champion Adelphi.
