The future is bright for the women’s soccer team thanks to a solid 2013

freshman class.

Typically freshmen do not see a lot of playing time, but this year’s group has. Jackie Wandt and Alex Elias have starting jobs, while Haley Cummings, Jess Wooldridge and Margaret Rivera have made key contributions off the bench. Riley Riordan is the only one who hasn’t seen any game action, but that’s largely due to being behind senior goalie Amy Carr on the depth chart.

“I think our freshmen class is strong, and we’ve been able to put in a lot of effort this year,” Wooldridge said. “I think we were just able to step up to the plate and compete with everybody else.”

Wooldridge is third on the team in goals scored and is coming off a great game at Ball State where she scored two goals. Despite being freshmen, Wooldridge believes the group were able to earn its in-game appearances.

It’s not always easy to make the transition to college while starting to play college soccer at the same time. Head coach John Ross was impressed with the players’ ability to do just that.

“They have come in ready to go and they proved themselves right away,” Ross said. “It’s a big transition. [At the beginning of the year] they had two weeks to become college soccer players.”

That preparedness is what Wandt credits for her starting role, while Elias thinks her first appearance gave her the chance to start.

“In the Lewis game, coach put me in and told me to stay composed and make an impact,” Elias said. “I went in and I ended up scoring a goal right away. They realized I could make an impact in the game.”

The play of the freshmen class has given the Huskies help this season and hope for the future.

“It’s a really good building block moving forward,” Ross said. “It’s an exciting time for the soccer program.”