St. Edward's women's soccer team members filed into the gym for media day on their first weekend back at the Hilltop. In addition to SEU blue, several team members adorned themselves with the colors of their national flag. 
 
Germany's black, red, and yellow. Mexico's red, white, and green. Venezuela's red, blue, and yellow. Missing were the reds, blues, and yellows of Spain and Catalonia. Nonetheless, members of the team who call those places home add to the team's culture as much as those flags added to the color palette on media day. 
 
"The first few weeks of practice have been very life-affirming. They're a gregarious group that's a lot of fun to be around," St. Edward's Head Women's Soccer Coach Nick Cowell says. "We have a large group of people, many of whom are from overseas, so there will be some challenges. But we've seen a lot of growth in the team's unity. There's great team chemistry." 
 
Strength in numbers is a common concept in sports, and these Hilltoppers are blessed with more depth than usual. St. Edward's has recruited a class of first-years and transfers the coaching staff is high on. It has quality, experienced returners and a few inexperienced returners who have made significant strides over the summer to make a case for some time on the field. 
 
"We've got way more competition [for playing time]. The spring season was important for our returners to continue their growth as leaders, and they've stepped up as people we can rely on," Cowell says. "The newcomers all bring something to the table, and some women who didn't play much last year worked hard to compete this fall. We have a core group of 18-20 players, and I'd be comfortable starting any of them." 
 
Depth isn't just about overwhelming opponents with wave after wave of numbers, a unique opportunity specific to college soccer substitution rules in the sport. Depth is also about the diversity of skill sets a coach can use to address a particular opponent, and this roster has many tools that house something for every situation. 
 
There's team captain CAITLYN GONZALEZ's leadership and creativity on the pitch, breaking down defenses to create opportunities for herself and others with equal aplomb, last year's leading points-getter TRISTYN CABELLO, KATIE GAY's technical brilliance, touch, and shot from outside the box, or ARI RAMIREZ's pace, which is amongst the quickest in the conference, forcing defensive pressure to back off or risk Ramirez burning them on the outside. 
 
Gonzalez, Gay, and defender MADDI DAVIS are returning LSC All-Conference players, and sophomore midfielders ELENA RAMOS BANET and KATIE FITZPATRICK are looking to break out further after earning spots on the LSC All-Freshman team last year. 
 
The team has also had quality preseasons from newcomers like Carina Wüst, RAINEY SIMMONS, and MCKENNA KEELEY. 
 
"We're an aggressive, athletic, forward-thinking team with many weapons. We have good technical skills on the ground, and we're good in the air," Cowell proclaims. "We have good speed and good finishers in different types of forwards. Some like to go outside, others like to go inside, and all have good work ethics."  
 
The one area where the number of athletes is as significant as the diversity of its skills is on the defense. Davis, the team's second team captain, highlights the back line of defenders, and there's been an open competition to see who's in the net, but Cowell demands a total team effort to get the job done. 
 
"The backline is doing a great job, and we're confident in all of them in terms of their organization, on the ball, and in the air," Cowell says. "But if they're under constant pressure, we're not doing our jobs. This year, we've had a lot of buy-in to be a team-oriented defense."
 
Finding the right combinations of lineups and skill sets is an exciting chemistry experience for Cowell, assistant coach Jonas Hunt, and the rest of the coaching staff. However, intensity must be the catalyst for any of it to work to its full potential.
 
"For us to be successful, intensity has to be our identity," Cowell explains. "Not just in effort. It's more about the intensity of concentration than anything else. We must carry that high intensity every time we're out on the pitch. You can't play good soccer without it, and there were times last year, for whatever reason, it wasn't as high as we needed it to be." 
 
"Our identity is intensity," Cowell reiterates. 
 
The team will look for a quick start starting Sunday against MSU Denver, followed by a trip to Florida for two games to wrap up the non-conference portion of its schedule. 
 
"The college soccer season is so short, you don't have time to get up to speed," Cowell says. "You have to start strong right away, and we're going to work to get off to a quick start, learn from any adversity, and get running on all cylinders in time for the conference." 
 
Whether blue and gold, red, white, and green, or whatever color combinations these Hilltoppers wear with pride, the goal remains to once again put St. Edward's name in black and white on the NCAA Tournament bracket. 
 
"We're playing to be better at the end of the season than the start while competing along the way. If we do suffer defeat, we want to learn from it so we peak at the right time so when we get in the playoffs, we're a dangerous team no one wants to face," Cowell says. "This program has been in the NCAA Tournament and into the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, and there's no reason this group can't achieve a run like that."