Date: 8/18
Positions: Goalkeepers & Defenders

Goalkeepers
Returning Letterwinners (Key stats): Sarah Hay, So. (1 MP, 0 MS, 90:00 min, 0.00 GAA, 2 saves)

Letterwinners lost (Key stats): Melissa Drish (21 MP, 21 MS, 1,915:00 min, 1.08 GAA, 102 saves), Lauren Arnold (2 MP, 1 MS, 135:00 min, 0.67 GAA, 5 saves)

Newcomers (Yr., Previous school): Courtney Baum (Fr., Cumming, Ga./West Forsyth HS), Lauren Steil (Fr., Huntsville, Ala./Bob Jones HS)

Miscellaneous Notes
- The three goalkeepers on the roster have a combined 90 minutes of college experience.
- Hay, the only returning player with college experience, started in the Jaguars' 11-0 victory over Alabama A&M last season, making two saves.
- Last year's starter, Drish, ranked third in the Sun Belt in goals against average (1.08) and second in shutouts (7). She finished her career first in school history in saves (385), tied for first in shutouts (20) and second in goals against average (1.31).

Graham Winkworth
-On the race for the starting job: "I've never gone into a season where I don't know who my best goalkeeper is and right now I'm in that position. It's not through lack of quality because we've got quality goalkeepers, it's just such a tight race. This time last year I pretty much made up my decision and that was that; this year it may go a few games into the season before we figure out who is going to lead the team from that position because we've not had a chance to see any of the goalkeepers play under pressure in big games. One may start one game and not another, not because they played poorly, but because we want to have a look at that race. It's a good place to be, but a nerve-racking place to be as a coach as well because you like that position to be solid."
-On the relative youth of the goalkeepers: "The enthusiasm level and workrate are fantastic. There are still some areas of the game where they're still a little naïve and have to work on, but the work ethic is fantastic. (Goalkeeper coach) Keyton (Wheelock) doesn't have any complaints there after practice sessions. They work hard and their willingness to learn is exceptional. One of the positive things about that position, and the people we have in that position, is that not only are they competing against one another, but they're helping one another get better as well. It's a positive competition and I'm pleased with the maturity they're showing with that."
-On the biggest thing they need to focus on: "Keeping the ball out of the goal! I'm joking but I am serious. One thing about these goalkeepers is that they all have different strengths. One might be better at shot-stopping, another might be better at dealing with higher balls—they're all different. They all have different strengths and weaknesses which makes it an even more difficult job to select who is doing better. The bottom line is who keeps the ball out of the goal, so we'll have to watch every single practice session and every drill; they can't slack off because they never know when we're watching."

Sarah Hay
-On there not being a clear No. 1: "It's something that I've been used to since I've been here. When I first came in during my redshirt year, I had two juniors in front of me. Last year I was competing for playing time, but I had two seniors that were in front of me. I've always been in a competitive atmosphere. I think it's good to have competition; you push each other and you make each other better every day. Obviously the ultimate goal is to have playing time, but for me it's to work hard for my teammates, coaches and people around me. If playing time comes out of the hard work, then fantastic, but if not, I know I'm going to go out there every day and do the best I possibly can."
-On being named captain: "Goalkeeper, in and of itself as a position, is absolutely a leadership position on the field. Being in a leadership position means you are serving the people around you, more than you would being a regular team member. It's a great honor and I'm glad that my teammates feel that I'm capable of a job like this, so I'm going to do it to the best of my ability. Being a leader, captain and goalkeeper are all related to each other and all correlate."
-On the camaraderie of the goalkeepers as a group: "You keep everything on the field, on the field, and what's off the field, off the field. When you're on the field, it's a competition and we all respect each other, but at the same time, you are working as hard as you can to beat the other person out. When you have two or three people together like that, you can learn from each other and that's how each of us can get better."

Defenders
Returning Letterwinners (Key stats): Nini Rabsatt-Smith, Jr. (22 MP, 21 MS, 2 G, 4 A, 8 pts), Emi Passini, Sr. (21 MP, 21 MS, 0 G, 0 A, 0 pts – 2012 season), Nikki Shirtcliffe, So. (23 MP, 20 MS, 0 G, 1 A, 1 Pt), Alyssa Mayer (18 MP, 6 MS, 4 G, 5 A, 13 pts)

Letterwinners lost (Key stats): Shelby Owen (23 MP, 23 MS, 2 G, 0 A, 4 pts), Jess Oram (23 MP, 23 MS, 0 G, 1 A, 1 Pt)

Newcomers (Yr., Previous school): Steffi Hardy (Fr., Workington, England/Stainburn School), Grete Kuppas (Fr., Adavere, Estonia/Noo Upper Secondary School)

Miscellaneous Notes
- Rabsatt-Smith, a two-year starter, was tabbed to the Preseason All-Sun Belt team.
- The defensive unit must replace Oram and Owen, who co-hold the school record for most matches played in a career.
- The Jaguars ranked second in the Sun Belt last year in shutouts (nine) and goals against average (1.01.
- USA gave up just one goal in 210 minutes in the Sun Belt Tournament last year en route to the title.
- Two freshmen, Hardy and Kuppas, are the front-runners for the starting center-back spots. Kuppas has international experience, having played with the Estonian Women's National Team over the summer in its FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying matches.
- Passini returns after missing all of last season with a knee injury. She also missed all of 2010 with another knee injury.

Graham Winkworth
-On having two freshman, Steffi Hardy and Grete Kuppas, occupying the starting center-back spots: "They're two inexperienced players that naturally speak two different languages that have never played a college game—we've got a lot to learn. Steffi is quite a vocal player; Grete is quieter, partly because her natural language isn't English, but when she does speak, she says the right things. It's a little scary having so many freshmen playing and having two freshmen start at center-back, but it's pretty much a problem we've got all over the field."
-On what Rabsatt-Smith brings to the defense: "What doesn't she bring? She's becoming more vocal on the field, she has pace, she's powerful and good in the air, she can get forward from the defense, whether she's playing center-back or left-back and can create and score goals from a defensive position, she can play anywhere across the back four, very athletic and in my mind, the best defender in the league. It was a blessing when I walked into this position and Nini was on the roster because I knew she was the type of player that we were going to be able to build our team around for the next three years."
-On his expectations for the defense as a whole: "We just have to keep getting better. Last season, everyone talked about our improved offense, but if you look at our defensive record, our save percentage was over 80 percent and that's a stat I follow, and defensively, we weren't giving up goal-scoring opportunities as well, so those two were a great combination. We just want to continue to build from that into this season and we're doing it with a very inexperienced back line. Hopefully, if we continue to be as successful as we were last year defensively, which is a big ask, then we can have a good season."

Nini Rabsatt-Smith
-On her role as a defender and team captain: "It's almost perfect that Sarah and I are captains because we are the last line of defense. It really helps having people who lead from the back because not only can we see everything on the field and tell people what to do, it helps us get the team together because everyone trusts us. If you're the team captain people trust you more and it's better for the team dynamic."
-On what she worked on during the offseason: "My fitness was so bad when Coach Graham first got here. I knew I had the ability with my skills, but I knew I needed to be able to run up and down the field, especially because it's been widened and lengthened. I worked out with (strength and conditioning coach) Joey Choron and we did a lot of sprinting and running, and weight workouts to help me get some explosiveness and a quick first step, and have some endurance also."
-On what the defensive unit has to do to be really good this season: "Communicate. In the exhibition that was our main concern with the center-backs because one of them is vocal and one isn't as much. That's OK, we just have to find a middle ground so we can be together as a unit and work the way we should. Once we start communicating like we should, I feel the defense will be great because everyone has wonderful talent."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

—USA—