Last season saw many firsts for OUAZ women's soccer. First time making the NAIA National Tournament, earning its first win in the tournament, and going to the final site in Orange Beach, Ala. for the first time in the program.
There will be a lot of first this season too, as the Spirit will be led by first-year head coach Brett Bentley. The conference has new faces as well, with Embry-Riddle, Benedictine Mesa and Park-Gilbert all joining a rebranded GSAC.
OUAZ will look to continue its winning ways against new and familiar conference foes, and are thought highly of those coaches to perform well this season. Not only were the Spirit picked third in the GSAC Preseason Poll, including one first-place vote, the team came in ranked 21st in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The roster has a few key players returning to OUAZ, including 2023 points leader Mindy Lertzman. The Arizona native finished with 11 goals to go along with six assists on her way to being named co-GSAC Player of the Year.
Another team leader returns as well, as top assister and GSAC All-Conference player Harlee Kuntz looks to build on her 10 total from the previous season. In all, seven players that scored at least three goals or contributed at least five assists will put on the Spirit uniform this season.
Many players, returning or incoming, gained valuable experience playing in a variety of premier amateur leagues over the summer. Lineup regulars like Lertzman and Kuntz pushed their game to the next step against top competition, while newcomers like Diane Garcia and Miranda Pena learned what it is like to prepare and play at a higher level.
"A lot of what [these players] have found is the highest level of competition in the country," OUAZ head coach Brett Bentley said. "Most importantly, we wanted to get them in a position to stretch them out of their comfort zone so when they came back to OUAZ, now they have a wealth of experience of playing against better competition and higher level tactics to help us be successful."
The Spirit will start their season on Friday when they host Goshen. The Maple Leafs were great in non-conference play during the 2023 campaign, as they went 5-2-2 before jumping into a tough Crossroads League schedule.
Watch the preseason interview with head coach Bentley here.
Tickets to all home games at Spirit Field can be purchased at ouazspirit.com/tickets. All home and conference games will be streamed live at ouazspirit.com/watch.
