NMU Women’s Club Soccer came out strong during their 3-1 victory over Loyloa Sunday morning.

The ’Cats were consistent the whole game as they maintained the lead since the first half of the game. The team cooperated with each other and kept constant communication on and off the field.

Wildcat senior captain Lana Bannow was pleased with the performance of her team.

“Being our first game of the season, I feel everybody played very well and gave a full effort,” Bannow said. “We were unsure how our formation would work and how everybody would play together, but it ended up working out. Our focus starting the game was to work on constant movement and quick passing and I believe we achieved that goal.”

The Wildcats showed a lot of potential on the field and kept constant effort defensively. Although the team has only started practicing together last Tuesday, Bannow feels that this season will be exciting and competitive

“A major strength going into this season is a new style of training,”Bannow said. “Two times a week as a team, we will be training at CrossFit training here in Marquette.”

Bannow is confident with her roster and knows the areas to focus on as a team.

“Another strength we have is numbers, we rostered 20 players to account for any injuries or missing players. This is something that hasn’t been done in the past,” Bannow said. “We will need to continue working on formation, communication and conditioning. We will continue to work on these key elements throughout the whole season, because there are always ways we can improve.”

The team seems focused on their goals to have a successful season and continue to having fun. NMU sophomore midfielder Lizzie Wolak felt that their first game went strong and the team really came together.

“I can honestly say I think the game went beautifully,” Wolak said. “We were a little off to start the game but we got into the swing of things about halfway through the first half. Most of the girls are returners but there are a few new ones so you have to feel out everyone’s style of playing and make it work. We communicated very well and raised our intensity, especially after we scored and tied it up 1-1.”

Wolak likes the teams participation and feels the team is starting to get comfortable with each other.

“The second goal a few seconds later really bumped up our energy,” Wolak said “Overall we played really well and clicked in all the right places.”

Wolak has high hopes for this season and feels that regionals are a definite possibility.

“I have really good feelings about our team this year. We have a lot of talent and well-rounded players. As for accomplishments, keep playing well and continue to improve,” Wolak said. “We hope to qualify for regionals at the end of the season.”

Wolak likes the communication on and off the field with her teammates. Wolak said that as time progresses, the bond will only get stronger as they strive to their ultimate goal.

“Our chemistry is something else. We are all very different people but when we come together and play, we click,” Wolak said.

The team will be traveling to Milwaukee to play Marquette University and University of Milwaukee the weekend of Saturday, Sept. 22.