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RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University soccer team will kick off the 2014-15 athletics season on Friday when the Colonels travel to Western Carolina to face the Catamounts at 7:00 p.m.

WCU defeated EKU, 2-0, in Richmond last season.

The Colonels will play their home opener on Friday, August 29, versus Alabama A&M. First touch at EKU Soccer Field is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

The following is a preview of EKU's 2014 season:
 
The EKU soccer team finished 5-12-2 (4-5-1 OVC) and missed out on the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament last year for the first time since 2007; however, despite a rocky 2013, there is an optimism surrounding the 2014 Colonels that cannot be denied.
 
Part of that optimism has to do with the chemistry of this year's team.
 
 "The atmosphere at training has been very good so far," head coach Melissa Barnes noted. "Practices are competitive, but in a positive way. The players are getting after it at practice, but then they're friends afterwards."
 
Another reason for optimism is an array of talented returners, including senior Paige Larkin, who was a first team All-OVC defender last season, and sophomore Cassie Smith, who scored a team-best five goals and dished out three assists in 2013.
 
Senior Emily D'Italia, a 2012 first team All-OVC center back who missed most of last season with an injury, is also back and will help anchor the Colonel defense.
 
Three players will not win a championship, though, and Barnes knows that.
 
"It's our depth at every position that has really improved," she said. "That added depth helps with training, because there's always someone behind you on the depth chart motivating you."
 
Much of that depth derives from the arrival of reinforcements, a nine-player recruiting class that features several freshmen Barnes expects to contribute immediately.
 
"Several of the freshmen played at the highest level of club soccer in the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) and their ability to come in and contribute immediately has been amazing," Barnes said. "They all bring different skills and they're really going to diversify what we're capable of doing going forward."
 
EKU has been picked by league head coaches and sports information directors to finish eighth in the OVC this season, and Barnes thinks the Colonels will know quickly if they have what it takes to prove the pundits wrong and make a run at their first-ever conference championship.
 
"From Western Carolina, to Cincinnati, to Kent State, our non-conference schedule is a good test, but a fair test," Barnes said. "We're going to know pretty quickly how we'll match up in the OVC this season."
 
The following is a position-by-position look at the 2014 Colonels.
 
Goalkeepers
 
EKU features both depth and experience in goal this season. The Colonels have four goalkeepers on roster, two of whom have logged significant minutes at the college level.
 
Junior Erika Wolfer has started 33 games over the last two seasons and ranks second all-time at EKU in shutouts (seven) and third all-time in saves (150). The Cincinnati native led the team with 76 stops last season while notching shutouts over Xavier and conference foes Eastern Illinois and Murray State. Wolfer has battled injuries throughout her career, but she enters 2014 fully healthy and ready to compete for a starting spot.
 
Fellow junior Samm Melton, meanwhile, has started nine games in her career and has blanked the likes of Southeast Missouri (in 2013) and Tennessee Tech (in 2012).
 
The two veterans, however, are guaranteed nothing.
 
"We have a pretty competitive situation at the goalkeeper position," Barnes noted.
 
That competitive situation is due to the arrival of talented freshman Anna Hall, who started EKU's lone exhibition game versus East Tennessee State on August 12. Hall broke the Ross (Ohio) High School record for career shutouts (14) and will likely compete for playing time immediately.
 
Sophomore Shawn Zellers begins the season injured but could also be a factor later in the season.
 
Defenders
 
The Colonel backline should be solidified by the return of D'Italia, who was a first-team All-OVC selection in 2012 after tying the EKU single-season record with four assists. Joining D'Italia at center back will likely be sophomore Mikalya Brillon, who displayed ideal fitness and durability by starting all 19 games at outside back as a freshman in 2013.
 
Larkin moved to center back after D'Italia's injury last season but will likely move back to her more natural outside role this season. She will be joined on the other flank by junior Merrissa Vault, who was impressive in EKU's first four games of last year before also going down with an injury.
 
Barnes is quick to point out that, although all four defenders possess a ton of individual experience, they have rarely all been on the field together at one time due to injuries.
 
Because of that, "we are still trying to figure out who is playing together and who is playing where," Barnes said.
 
Defensive depth will be helped by a trio of freshmen. Sutton Edwards and Savannah Selby will look to contribute in the middle of the defense, while Makenna Sullivan has shown promise on the outside.
 
Midfielders
 
The middle of the field is where the Colonels "have the biggest gaps to fill," according to Barnes.
 
This comes as no surprise considering the graduation of stalwarts Brittany Nomady and Kristan Paynter, both of whom played in more than 75 games in their careers.
 
Junior Katie Bright, however, brings much-needed experience to the position. Bright was steady last season, starting 13 of EKU's final 14 games as a defensive center midfielder and coming forward to score the game-winner versus conference foe Tennessee Tech.
 
Bright will be joined in the midfield by seniors Kaylynn Brown, a converted forward who has scored three goals in her career, and Devon Saini, who is "technical and sees the game well," according to Barnes. Junior Mikala Ferguson, who was an OVC All-Freshman selection in 2012, will also likely see a much larger role this season.
 
Rangy freshman Logan Harvey was recruited as a forward but has impressed as a midfielder during the preseason and will likely see minutes there. Harvey played a ball to junior Amani Thomas that led to EKU's lone goal of the August 12 exhibition versus ETSU. Freshman Allison Werner will likely back up Bright as a defensive center midfielder.
 
Forwards
 
EKU's attack obviously took a major hit with the graduation of the program's all-time leading goal scorer in Nikki Donnelly; however, the Colonels return several exciting players up front, starting with Smith who led the team in goals (five) and points (13) as a freshman last year while also dishing out three assists.
 
Smith will be joined at striker by another extremely quick and athletic player in Thomas, who exploded at the end of last season, starting EKU's final five games and recording two goals and two assists during that five-game stretch.
 
Seniors Whitney Wallace, who scored at Alabama A&M last season, and Ashley Ryan, who has two career goals to her name, will add depth to the attack.
 
Freshman Emmi Carroll, a tall, heady target forward, started the Colonels' August 12 exhibition and could see significant minutes this season. Fellow freshman Jordan Foster could also see minutes up front in 2014.