2015 marks the beginning of Auburn soccer's third 'rebuilding' season. A freshman class of 11 brought depth to the team in the offseason and will be led by a powerful group of four seniors this season. Kala Faulkner, Logan Beal, Haley Gerken and Sophie Simantel are beginning their bittersweet final season at Auburn, and according to head coach Karen Hoppa, will each bring something different to the table as a leadership group.
"This is a great group of seniors and a group that I'm really excited about because all four of them are great players," said Hoppa. "But more importantly, they're great people."
What do these leaders hope to leave with freshmen after they graduate? "Best effort and best attitude," the four said in consensus. "We talk about having Auburn on our shirt and that you play for Auburn, and so all the traditions that we have on this team and the best attitude and the best effort just to go out every day at practice and think about you play for Auburn," said Simantel.
Simantel, an elementary education major from Orange Beach, Alabama, played in 18 games in 2014, starting five at either the midfield or the back line. She played a career-high 665 minutes last season and had one goal on five shots, with four of those shots being on goal.
Faulkner, a defender from Alpharetta, Georgia, said, "We have it written in our locker room, 'Best effort, Best attitude.' Looking at that you know it's going to stay with you all four years that you're here." Faulkner started all 22 games for the Tigers as the center back. She has over 6,000 career minutes, putting her among the top 10 for most minutes played in Auburn history. As part of the defense last year, Faulkner help register 10 shutouts, which is the second-most in a single season by any Auburn team.
The team has a general end goal in mind - to perform and go father than last season, but the seniors particularly want to make it to the program's first-ever NCAA Sweet 16. "I think we obviously want to make the Sweet 16 because no team has ever done that," Simantel said. "But we're just taking it game by game thinking about what we can do without focusing too much on it."
Gerken said that the biggest thing she will carry on with her in life after Auburn is "the true meaning of family." Gerken is a Birmingham native majoring in exercise science. "We talk about the Auburn family all the time and that's truly what it is, all these girls are my sisters now," Gerken said. "We all support each other 100 percent, and just going through life, I'll carry that with me, knowing that I'll have a support system behind me."
"We learned a lot from being student athletes and managing our schedules and our time," said Simantel. "Managing what we can and can't do and things we have to give up will help us a lot in our future."
None of the four plan to pursue a professional career in soccer. "This is our last run," said Beal, a Plano, Texas, native. Beal set a slew of career highs in 2014, including minutes played (897), goals (three), points (six), shots (13) and shots on goal (eight). The forward played in 21 matches, starting seven.
"We've got 11 freshmen so we need strong leadership, and they're balanced as leaders," said Hoppa. "I am really excited to see where this group of seniors can take the team this year."
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