MARCY, N.Y. - The SUNYIT Women's Soccer Team will have plenty of experience heading into 2013, as they return 14 players from 2012, including an eye-popping 12 seniors.

"It's not just that they're seniors," says second-year head coach Erin Schurr, "but that a majority of them are going to be 4-year players, so they have a lot of experience playing in this conference. They know what we're up against and what to expect."

The Wildcats closed well in 2012, losing just two games in conference over their final 11, and finishing with a NEAC record of 6-2-1 over that stretch. The team finished the regular season with a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory at home over Keuka, and then upset Penn St.-Abington in the first round of the NEAC Tournament on penalty kicks before succumbing to tournament host Penn St.-Berks.

SUNYIT finished fourth  in the conference in goals last year, aided by NEAC All-Second Team selection Abbey Hanehan (Stillwater, N.Y. / Stillwater) and 3^rd-Team selection and last September's Northwestern Mutual Student-Athlete of the Month Award winner Stephanie Wurz (Whitesboro, N.Y. / Notre Dame).

Wurz helped carry the scoring load early on last year, scoring 6 goals over the team's first 5 games and finishing the year with the second-most scores on the team (12). Hanehan, for her part, helped drive the SUNYIT offense by finishing 4^th in the NEAC in shots taken.

 Says Schurr, "Abbey is an aggressive player, which is good because we need our midfielders to hit balls when they're open. She's increased her goal total every year she's been here, so I have confidence she'll continue to find the back of the net."

On the other side of the field, defense should continue to be a strength for SUNYIT in 2013. Fleet-footed defenders Amanda Zarek and Erica Bortiatynski return for their senior and junior years, respectively, while a number of transfer students and first-years should help fill some gaps for the Wildcats.

Anchoring that defense to start the season will be senior goalie Maggie Werenczak. Werenczak takes over for Aubrey Campbell, who suffered an injury in the spring as a member of the SUNYIT Women's Lacrosse team.

"Maggie makes extremely smart decisions as a goalkeeper," says Schurr, "and is playing with a lot of confidence right now."

The Wildcats start off with 4 of 6 games at home. SUNYIT fared well at home in 2012 with a 7-5 record, but will face three opponents over that stretch that they didn't see last season.

The prognosticating will end on Friday, August 30^th, as the Wildcats play host to D'Youville in the season-opener. Game time is set for 5:00 pm at Wildcat Field.