Felician soccer student-athlete Brittany Lohman gives insight into what her senior season has been like thus far. Check out Brittany's first two blog entries: Felician soccer player bounces back from tough loss and Being a student-athlete is difficult, but rewarding.

If it's common to fear the unknown, then it's only natural how my Felician College Women's Soccer teammates and I felt at the start of our new season. We had a new coaching staff and did not know what to expect. In essence, it was a new start for everyone - the players, the coaches, and the program itself.

It was very stressful not having a coach over the summer months and then with two and a half weeks before preseason was set to start, we finally had a coach. The situation created a lot of anxiety, for not only me, but for the other five seniors as well. What was this year going to be like? How are we going to finish out our careers? We were haunted by these questions.

Fortunately, all our fears were put to rest after our first team meeting. Our new coach, Tom Notte, was our men's assistant coach last year, so he was a familiar face to us. Our new assistant, Byron Estrada, works with Coach Tom at the same club team. We walked into the meeting timid and nervous and walked out excited and reassured. This was our year to shock people and put Felician back on the map.

Coach Tom made sure everyone knew how seriously he took his new position and that it was not going to be a wasted year. It was going to be a year of growth, determination and most importantly, wins. We also established an important team goal, to qualify for our conference tournament, something that has not occurred within the past three years.

Coach Tom's passion and love for the game is very strong. We could tell he loves playing and coaching and will do anything to see his teams succeed. Coach Byron exudes the same passion and love for the game. Together they are quite the dynamic duo. Our coaches' love for soccer has been absorbed by many of the players and our own love and passion for the game has been rejuvenated. Coach Tom and Byron bring a new level of motivation to our team and demand the best from us all the time. The level of competition has increased within the team and we are hungry to win games.

Preseason was our first taste of what Coach Tom and Bryon were bringing to our team. Even despite practicing at 6am, practices were great; tactics, fitness, skills, all combined into a well-structured practice. It was the type of practice we needed not only as individuals, but collectively.

Our regular season practices continue to be at 6 a.m. but no one seems to mind anymore. At the time of this writing, we were ranked second in our conference. Preseason polls predicted us to finish 9th out of 12 teams. We are now guaranteed a spot in our conference tournament. Essentially we have accomplished our team goal, but we are far from being done. Our eye is on the conference finals now. The fire inside us is growing and anything is possible.

As a senior, nothing would excite me more then to reach the conference finals and then of course, ultimately win. Thus far, my senior season has exceeded my expectations. Coach Tom has brought new life to this team as well as a new soccer dynamic. It is now more than ever bittersweet to be a senior. I know I can't stay but I don't want to leave because the future of our program is so bright. I wish I could be a part of what the future holds but I'm thankful to have been part of the team that began the transformation.

Coach Tom and Coach Byron are both great additions to our Felician family. The women's program can only get better from here. It has been a great ride thus far and with only a few games left in my collegiate career it has been the most exciting and memorable season ever.

No matter how our season finishes, I'd like our coaches to know how great it feels to be graduating on such a high note. I also want to thank them for creating such an encouraging and positive environment. It has been a great experience playing for both these coaches. They have re-established my love for the game and I am extremely grateful for that. I wish Coach Tom and Byron the best of luck in the future and thank them for all that they have given to not only me but to this team.