On report day a year ago, the Northwestern State soccer team aimed to build on the late-season success from the 2023 season.
Build on the late-season surge it did, finishing with 11 victories and finished one win shy of its second Southland Conference regular season championship in four seasons.
“Report day is always exciting, and it is good to get to work,” said coach Ian Brophy. “It has been a busy report day already and I think everybody is ready to get things going and get the meetings underway and get the program going.
“We’re looking to take another big jump and move things forward. I think we did a really good job in taking a step forward and competing for a championship. We were really close last year and for us, it is just a matter of can we got over that hump now.”
Now the Demons want to take that next step. From six victories in year one to 11 in the second season under Brophy, they report to camp for the 2025 season hungry for more and even better.
“I am so excited to be back,” Madison Murphy said. “I am sad that it is my senior year, but based on what I have seen so far during practice, I think it is going to be a great year, so I am excited.”
The team made major strides in 2024, more than doubling their goal total from 17 in 2023 to 35 in 2024 and had three All-Southland Conference selections, including two on the first team.
Northwestern returns two of the All-SLC picks, Emily Senatore (first team) and Jessica Spitzer (second team).
NSU was very good despite missing key starters for much of the season. Now Emily Mougia, Riley Stern and Ravina Sandhu are all back and healthy again.
“I think we have had a team the last couple of years to make it to that championship but caught some unlucky runs,” Mougia said. “I think we’re building something special and I just wanted to be a part of it.
NSU added seven new faces to the mix, including high-scoring freshman forward Hosane Soukou and transfer defender Anika Sproxton.
The team begins practice today, as it prepares to travel to Southern for a road exhibition game Aug. 8. The regular season starts for NSU on Aug. 14 when it goes to Texas for the first ever meeting with the Longhorns.
After four straight games—including the exhibition contest at Southern—to begin the season on the road, the Demons’ home opener is Aug. 24 against Alcorn State.
“We know we are going to have to be dedicated to the process,” Brophy said. “We’re calling it peeling the fire. We want to be really dedicated to that and put everything into that because we know if we prepare and do all the little things the right way and train the right way, that will lead us to be where we want to be at the end of the season.”