Anderson University head women's soccer coach Jason Dowiak hit the ground last summer, taking over the leadership of the Lady Trojans in early August. "I think things will be smoother this year," said Dowiak, who led the AU women to a record of 7-9-2 overall and 4-6-1 in Conference Carolinas in his first season. I know the conference and I know the players. We know what to expect from each other. We will be able to handle things better." The Lady Trojans open the 2008 season at home against Brevard on Sept. 3. The Lady Trojans jumped out to a 5-2 start, but injuries cut into the team's scoring ability in the second half of the season. "There were a lot of positives out of the first year," Dowiak said. "As a team, we became a lot more mature from August until May. The freshmen matured and grew up during the season. The nine freshmen made a major impact last year. We're looking for them to be leaders for the six freshmen coming in this year." The Lady Trojans return their top four scorers from last season. Virginia Cates (Sr., Byron, Mich.) led Anderson in scoring in 2007 with seven goals, including three game-winning goals. "Ginny is going to continue to be a leader," Dowiak said. "She has a Division I mentality. She wants the ball all the time. She wants to be the one put in the pressure situations. She can handle the pressure. Ginny will get some help this season because we're going to have more offensive threats to help her." Cates will get help from Larrisa Fedorowich (Sr., Mississuga, Ontario), who scored two goals and had two assists in the first three matches before suffering a season-ending knee injury. "Larrisa is a natural scorer and finisher," Dowiak said. "She led the team in goals two years ago and only played in half of the games. Last year, she scored two goals in the first three games before her knee injury. She has been training all summer with a women's semi-pro team in Canada and is feeling good. I'm looking for her to step in and score some goals." Dowiak also is expecting some scoring from Lynne Flint (So., Fairbanks, Alaska). Flint tallied five goals and had six assists while playing through a mid-season ankle injury. "Lynne was having a great year five goals six assists before ankle injury," he said. "She is one of the most dynamic players I have been around. I definitely want her to continue to grow and mature as a leader on the team. She has the personality for it and is very difficult to defend. If I can get her understanding how deceptive she can be, there's no telling how far she can go in the conference." The Anderson defense, which allowed one goal or less in 11 matches last season, will be anchored by Lisa Taylor (Sr., Auburn, N.Y.). Alexis Horn (Sr., Allen, Tx.) and Bethany Craig (Sr., Central, S.C.) also will play major roles in the back. "In my mind, Lisa was one of the best players in the conference last year," Dowiak said. "She has another gear when she needs it, and she was rarely outrun. She certainly never misses a tackle. She is one of the strongest players on our team." Dowiak has two experienced goalkeepers - Kelli Whitfield (Jr., Anderson, S.C.) and Calle McCallister (So., Marietta, Ga.). Whitfield and McCallister recorded two shutouts apiece last season. "Kelli had a great year and her confidence grew during the season," he said. "There were times when it was a toss up between her and Callie. Callie has very good technical ability. She just needs to get more confident. I want Kelli to become more vocal, and I hope her confidence will continue to grow." Dowiak believes his group of newcomers will make some major contributions. "We're getting to the point where the games that are close should be in our favor because we have a much more mature team than we had last year," he said. "We're adding depth in our soccer IQ. The players who are coming in all come from strong club and high school backgrounds. We have a returning core group of extremely athletic players. Overall, we will be stronger because we will be smarter team." The schedule gets tougher with the addition of region opponents Mars Hill and Wingate. "Fitness is going to be the key to our success," Dowiak said. "We weren't prepared for the speed of play in the first game last year. The players who came back were good enough to be on the field but not fit enough and it showed. If we have to take the time to get fit, we will. It is a more challenging schedule. My goal is to get us as many quality in-region games as possible, so we can get looked at being ranked in the region."