Lady Lions look forward to 2023 soccer season

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women’s soccer team’s 2023 season is on the horizon under head coach, Nathan Gillespie.

The second-year head coach is excited about this upcoming season, especially with the newcomers that will be on the field. “I am excited to see how the newcomers will mesh with the returners, I think that we have some great character in the group and all of them have their individual qualities.” Gillespie said.

Gillespie is also looking forward to new leadership for the fall. “This will be the first time in four years that we have a completely new leadership group and captains. I am eager to see how they bring their own unique leadership styles to the team.” Gillespie said.

Veteran Lady Lions Emma Jones, Hailie Yoder, and newcomer Hannah McCord are this year’s captains. “I think this group of leaders has some tremendous qualities and experiences to draw from but also the ability to continuously improve as peers and leaders.” Gillespie commented.

With every new year comes changes and Gillespie is excited about what this season holds. “In addition to our change in leadership, we also put in a lot of work to help the team’s mentality shift over the course of the spring semester and we are hoping to see our players return with a higher level of relentlessness to their game.” He said.

After taking on Southern Miss in an Aug. 13 exhibition in Poplarville, Mississippi, SLU will officially open the season Aug. 17 at UTRGV.