Date: 8/14
Positions: Goalkeepers & Defenders

Goalkeepers
Returning Letterwinners (Key stats): Sarah Hay, Jr. (19 GP, 19 GS, 1,762:41 min, 0.92 GAA, 81 saves), Courtney Baum, So. (4 GP, 4 GS, 305:54 min, 0.88 GAA, 6 saves)

Letterwinners lost (Key stats): Lauren Steil (2 GP, 0 GS, 54:06 min, 1.66 GAA, 2 saves)

Newcomers (Yr., Previous school): None

Miscellaneous Notes
- After alternating starts in the first eight games, Hay claimed the starting job Sept. 19 and started the final 15 contests, tying the school record for goals against average, and had 10 shutouts, one shy of the school record.
- Baum recorded one shutout in her four appearances for a 0.88 GAA.
- The two returning goalkeepers accounted for all but 54:06 of the total minutes in goal; last season, the Jags entered the year with 90 total minutes of playing time, all from Hay.

Graham Winkworth
- On the benefits of having two No. 1 goalkeepers: "It's great because the competition in practice means they both have to elevate their game every day and they can't take a day off or else the other one will steal the position. Courtney started the preseason very well and has given me some very positive headaches. Sarah had a good day when we were working on crossing and some higher stuff, but it's a tight race. As I've said before, both of them will have the opportunity before we reach the conference part of the season because we want to make sure that both of them are confident and comfortable with their back four and the back four is comfortable with them."
- On if it's easier to evaluate this year since they have a year in the system: "I think so; we know a little more about them. We knew quite a bit about Sarah from the previous year but we didn't know as much about Courtney, so we knew some of Courtney's strengths and weaknesses coming in this year and that helped Keyton in the coaching sessions. We know her strengths and were she needs to continue to improve."
- On what he wants to see in the preseason: "It's important that they continue to not only focus on the goalkeeping aspect, but since we're a possession-oriented team, it's important that they are comfortable with their feet as well."

Sarah Hay
- On there not being a clear No. 1: "It keeps the atmosphere at practice at a high, competitive level, but I think that is what's needed to make both of us better. It's a competition, but it's a healthy competition; we're very good friends on and off the field, I respect her and hopefully she respects me. We just work hard and do the best that we can every single day, and whoever comes out on top, we know that we have to encourage the other one and do what's best for the team."
- On what she learned last season: "I learned that I could do it. Sitting for two years then playing at a high level was definitely a big transition and a lot of stress. But I proved to myself that I could step up when it was time. If I get the chance to play, I'll definitely use that to my advantage because the teams that we're playing some high-class teams this season."
- On the positives of a close competition: "The whole atmosphere makes you push yourself. It makes you go hard for every single rep and every single drill. You make each other better, no one is holding anyone back and it's just fun. We have a good time in keeper training but we know it's for the one purpose and one goal of doing our jobs to contribute to the team."

Defenders
Returning Letterwinners (Key stats): Nini Rabsatt-Smith, Sr. (23 GP, 22 GS, 5 G, 3 A, 13 pts), Nikki Shirtcliffe, Jr. (23 GP, 22 GS, 0 G, 5 A, 5 pts), Alyssa Mayer, Sr. (15 GP, 5 GS, 0 G, 0 A, 1 pt), Steffi Hardy, So. (23 GP, 22 GS, 4 G, 0 A, 8 pts)

Letterwinners lost (Key stats): Emi Passini (10 GP, 2 GS, 0 G, 0 A, 0 pts), Grete Kuppas (1 GP, 1 GS, 0 G, 0 A, 0 pts)

Newcomers (Yr., Previous school): Jemma Purfield (Fr., Cottingham, England/Cottingham HS), Audrey Duren (Fr., Semmes, Ala./Mary G. Montgomery HS), Hannah Evans (Fr., Firth, Nebraska/Norris HS), Hannah Godfrey (Fr., Thronton-Cleveleys, England/Hodgson Academy), Maggie Pierce (Fr., Mobile, Ala./McGill-Toolen HS)

Miscellaneous Notes
- Returning players Nini Rabsatt-Smith and Steffi Hardy were both named Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference.
- Rabsatt-Smith became the program's first SBC Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 after scoring five goals with three assists, and helping the team post 12 shutouts, second-best in the league and a new school record.
- The team also ranked third in the league in goals against average (0.93) and fourth in goals allowed (22).
- USA gave up just one goal in the Sun Belt Tournament and just four total in nine-game win streak that was snapped in NCAA Tournament loss to eventual national champion Florida State.
- Newcomer Jemma Purfield is capped at the U-19 level for England.

Graham Winkworth
- On the improvements he's seen so far in practice: "When we were working on staying compact, they were pretty solid there; we weren't conceding goals when we were outnumbered, so I was pleased with that side of things. We need to continue with our communication and work a little more on communicating with one another."
- On if he'll ask them to play differently now that they have more experience: "I still want to make sure we attack from the back; that's very similar to last year. We can vary how high up the field we can defend from game to game, depending on who plays back there. We've got the option of playing a little higher if we want to because of the pace we've got, but we also have the option of sitting back and soaking up pressure because of our strength in the air. We don't necessarily play a different way, but we have the ability to play a number of ways with our personnel."
- On his expectations for the defense as a whole: "We want to limit the number of easy goal-scoring opportunities from our opponents. I want to make sure we don't give up too many tap-ins so it's important we cover one another, and from the whole squad, I want to make sure we're more organized on set-pieces than we've been in the past. Four of the five goals in our last game vs. Florida State were from set-pieces."

Nini Rabsatt-Smith
- On being named preseason player of the year: "It's definitely nice to be recognized for what I'm doing because a lot of times the defenders don't get noticed for what they do. I feel privileged to have that honor."
- On evaluating her 2014 season: "I think I did pretty well; most people think I did better than I thought I did, but it made me see that in times where I feel like I'm not doing well, I can dig deeper and push harder because there's always more in you than you think."
- On what the backline needs to improve upon from last year: "There were small lapses in our games—sometimes we were solid then there's one moment of weakness and that's when teams get goals. I think that's something we're doing a good job of improving on in preseason. We're even more consistent than we were last year and I can't wait to show everyone that."

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