The 2005 season was a banner campaign for the Clayton State Laker women’s soccer team. The Lakers completed the best season in program history, going 15-3-2 overall, winning both the Peach Belt Conference regular season and tournament championships and advancing to the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the second straight season.

So what do the Lakers do for an encore? Aim even farther, according to veteran head coach T.O. Totty.

“I have a philosophy that means get the best out of everything, and the players believe that as well,” said Totty, who is 75-63-11 entering his ninth season at Clayton State. “We’re looking good right now. How far we go remains to be seen, but I’m confident we can make a run deep into the NCAA National Tournament.”

The odds are in the Lakers’ favor. Clayton State returns 10 starters and 16 players total from last season. That includes a first team Division II All-American and Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year, three Division II All-South Atlantic Region selections and four All-Peach Belt selections.

All that leads to high expectations again for Clayton State, as the preseason polls indicate. The Lakers were picked second in the preseason Peach Belt standings, and tied for 19^th in the nation in the NSCAA Division II preseason Top 25 poll.

GOALKEEPER

As previously mentioned, the Lakers lost only one starter last season, but that loss was huge. Judith Chime was a mainstay for the last four seasons in the Clayton State, earning All-Peach Belt Conference all four seasons and All-South Atlantic Region the last two seasons. She holds all single-season and career goalkeeping records at Clayton State.

Battling to “replace” Chime in goal is junior Lindsay Schmidt and freshman Emily Sikes. Schmidt is transfer after two seasons at Georgia Perimeter, and brings immediate experience to the position, while Sikes a talented, but inexperienced freshman.

However, two is better than one according to Totty.

“In the past, we’ve never had more than one goalkeeper,” Totty said. “These two have battled each other tremendously and worked very hard. Lindsay has an edge, especially in experience, but Emily has been a quick learner to the system.”

FORWARD

Many coaches at the Division II level are envious of Totty and the fact that he has not one, but two major scoring threats back in forwards Olaitan Yusuf and Nkese Udoh.

Yusuf, a junior, is poised to break all the offensive records this season at Clayton State after her second banner season in a row last year. She paced the Peach Belt Conference with 21 goals and eight assists for 50 points. In turn, she was selected Peach Belt Player of the Year and both first team Division II All-South Atlantic Region and first team Division II All-American.

At 5-10 with plenty of speed and quickness, Yusuf is one of the most dangerous scoring threats in the nation and tough to contain one-on-one. In fact, she became the first ever two-time All-American last season for Clayton State.

A senior, Udoh made the successful transition last season after transferring from Lindsey Wilson. She ranked second in the Peach with 18 goals and seven assists for 43 points, earning both All-Peach Belt and All-South Atlantic Region honors. This summer, she participated in the Nigerian National Team trials.

The scoring combination of Yusuf and Udoh will give plenty of the Lakers’ opposing coaches sleepless nights preparing for the onslaught.

“We know that teams will design their defenses around these two players,” Totty said. “Individually, they are both goal scorers and they complement each other well. I’m confident they can overcome the challenges and determine our games.”

Freshman Verinique Cooper has shown flashes of promise during the preseason and will be an understudy to the Lakers’ exciting scoring duo.

MIDFIELD

Getting the ball to Yusuf and Udoh is the job of the Clayton State midfield, and the Lakers have plenty of talent and depth in that area.

Returning starters including All-Peach Belt performers Antoinette Anounga and Jennifer Powell, along with junior Yasemin Sunbul and sophomore Kyle Browning. Anounga scored two goals with four assists for eight points last season, while Powell chipped in four goals and two assists for 10 points.

However, it doesn’t stop there. Senior Deahdra Bowier and sophomore Allie Peterson each had six starts last season, and will figure in strong in the midfield rotation. Sophomore Medeka McGregor will also see plenty of action in the midfield, as will redshirt freshman Lauren Harris and sophomore junior college transfer Brittany Melcher.

“We are looking at playing different combinations based on who we are playing that particular game, whether it be five in the midfield or four in the midfield,” Totty said. “Everyone is comfortable, so will adapt well as the season progresses.”

DEFENSE

Chime might have been a brick wall in goal, but she had plenty of help with the defensive backline in front of her. Last season, the Lakers allowed only 12 goals to lead the Peach Belt and rank amongst the nation’s best. Whoever is in goal this season will have that same luxury as Clayton State has all four starters back, in addition to two key reserves and a promising newcomer.

Senior Cassandra Rapaich and sophomore Jennifer Winslette have become the backbones to the Laker defense. Rapaich is in her fourth season as a starter for the Lakers, while Winslette is coming off a stellar freshman campaign in which she played in all 20 games with a goal and four assists.

Rounding the starting cast is senior Deahdra Bowier and sophomore Kyle Browning. Like Rapaich, Bowier is also in her fourth season as a starter, and Browning also had a breakthrough freshman season for the Lakers.

Junior Loretta Ashu and sophomore Bose Tanimola will also by vying for starting roles after playing impressively during the preseason. The key newcomer making early headwaves defensively is freshman Jaymee Franklin.

“A majority of our players are good one-on-one defensive players, and that will help us make necessary adjustments defensively,” Totty said. “All of these girls have had an excellent preseason, so the competition has been strong.”

SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

Totty won’t be cutting any corners this season with arguably the strongest schedule in the history of Clayton State women’s soccer. The Lakers will be playing three teams ranked in the Division II preseason Top 25 (Carson-Newman, Catawba and Tusculum). In addition, five more teams are ranked in the South Atlantic Region, including Peach Belt rivals Columbus State and UNC-Pembroke.

“This will be a challenging season,” Totty said. “There is no team on our schedule that is not an impact team in its conference or region. We expect good competition for this season.”