With only one regular season game left, the seniors on the women’s soccer team are starting to look back on their careers.

There are nine seniors on the team, and all of them have made a positive impact on the program, said head coach John Ross.

“They’ve always worked hard in practice,” Ross said. “They think about the program, the team first. Those kind of players always help the team move forward.”

Forward Frances Boukidis, who has only missed one game across her career, believes the diversity of the group has given the team help through the years.

“Each one of us is very different,” Boukidis said. “We all bring something different to the table.”

The senior class has combined to score 25 goals across its four years at NIU. Each year, a member of the class has been in the top five of goals scored on the team. The impact hasn’t just been on offense, as goalkeeper Amy Carr’s 18 shutouts are second-most in NIU history.

The nine seniors make up a third of the team, and the bond that comes with playing together for four years has spread to others on the team.

“We have a lot of influence on the team on and off the field,” said defender Courtney Ksiazek. “With that kind of experience and leadership in all aspects, we’ve just been able to really keep the group close. Our closeness and relationships with each other has just rebounded on everyone else on the team. Our class is really passionate about the game. It’s really contagious. When you have a large group of your team wanting to play for the love of it, you’re going to be successful because that passion is mirrored with everyone else.”

The seniors are about to make their third MAC tournament appearance in four years. Boukidis said the back-to-back tournament appearances, in this season and the 2012 season, allows the seniors to leave knowing they helped build a stronger team for the future.

“I think we’re heading in a really good direction,” Boukidis said. “We have a lot of talent on the team. A lot of the girls have a really good mindset.

“The younger girls are going to have opportunities to step up. They’re ready for that. Going to the tournament in back-to-back years gives the younger girls a lot of confidence.”

The reality of this being their last season is finally starting to sink in.

“It’s weird to even think about,” said forward and defender Samantha Hill. “It went by really fast. People keep telling me now, that you’ll never find this again: a big group of girls that have the same goals as you [and] the same heartbreaks as you. You’re going to go out in the real world; it’ll never be a team to you.”