Senior captains Kyrsten Kamlowsky (pictured) and Paige Madden will look to lead the fresh-faced Scots to a fourth straight NCAC Tournament appearance.

The College of Wooster women's soccer team will be as young as its been in recent memory, with only two seniors in Paige Madden and Kyrsten Kamlowsky, and just six returning starters set to take the pitch in 2013, but the Fighting Scots overcame a similar loss in graduation last year to place second in the North Coast Athletic Conference, and will be looking to make a similar impact this season.

"I won't say that we're rebuilding, because that's an excuse to not be successful," said head coach David "Geordie" Brown, who has led the Scots to a 16-3-4 record (.783) in NCAC action over the last three years. "It's inevitable, students are going to graduate. And we lost some really good ones. But these new kids want to win, too. Our challenge now is going to be working really hard to get up to our playing potential as quickly as we can."

Helping set the tone will be team captains Madden and Kamlowsky, who should make the Scots' defense tough to beat once again. Madden was the only returning starter in the backfield last year, but she quickly established herself as the anchor of a unit that allowed the third lowest goals per game (1.04) in the league.

"Paige marshaled that group, organized them, and really took charge back there," said Brown. "She turned our defense, which could have been a weakness, into the group that we were suddenly leaning on to keep us in games. She just anticipates very well and cleans things up, and we'll be counting on her to lead our defenders once again."

Madden won't have to shoulder the load alone, as the defense is now the most established group on the team, with three of the four starters from last year returning this fall. Joining Madden will be Rachael Davis and Kimberly Seidell, who each started nearly every game as a freshman and sophomore, respectively, while sophomores Kelsey Clark, Brenna Coolbaugh, and Div. II transfer Carly Joliat (Ashland) are competing for the chance to secure bigger roles as well.

Kamlowsky was experiencing a breakout a year ago as a defensive midfielder before an injury cost her the final eight games of the season. That allowed Lauren Hancher to crack the starting lineup, and the first-year responded with a strong second half, which included three goals over the last six games, and ultimately a spot on the all-conference team (honorable mention). Now projected to be on the field together for the first time, Kamlowsky and Hancher should complement each other well.

"We had tried Kyrsten at a couple different positions during her career, but she really excelled as a defensive midfielder last year," said Brown. "We were so disappointed when Kyrsten went down with an injury, but Lauren came in and it really was a seamless transition. Now that Kyrsten is healthy, we are really excited at the prospects of having them both playing together, because Kyrsten can be that defensive stopper, and that will allow Lauren to push forward more and get into the attack."

Also expected to join the midfield rotation will be juniors Gabi Morrison and Jessica Friesen, who each saw significant playing time last year, including a handful of starting nods between them, as well as sophomore Lauren Brown, who played in 12 games.

There will be some different faces starring for the Scots on the offensive end of the field, as Crystal Chavez is the lone returning starter among those at the forward position. Chavez, a junior, has scored seven goals over the last two years while playing alongside a pair of all-region players, but she should see many more goal-scoring opportunities this season.

"Crystal has played with some great goal-scorers in Erika (Kay) and Paige (Piper)," said Brown. "But now with two years under her belt, she is really going to have the chance to shine. She is a tireless worker with good individual skills, and we expect that she will produce and score more goals as she becomes comfortable being the leader up there."

It's likely that versatile junior Katherine Tuttle will make the transition to forward this year, after playing in nearly every game (34-of-38) the last two seasons as a midfielder and defender, while sophomore Isabel Abarca and junior Sophia Garfinkel will both factor into the new-look unit as well.

Finally, it's the goalkeeper position that will see the biggest shakeup with the graduation of four-year starter Michele Ring, as three newcomers – Elizabeth Clark, Carly Eppler, and Sydney Hanzlik – are involved in a three-way competition for the starting job.