In less than a month, the Alabama State Lady Hornets women's soccer team takes the pitch for the 2026-2027 season.
Entering her second year at the helm, head coach Alicia Wilson is excited about her roster.
As her team gets ready for the season, she sat down with WVAS News on Monday, July 27.
THOUGHTS ON THIS YEAR'S ROSTER:
"We're excited about this group coming in. We have a new group; we've done some transitioning. But we're very excited.
We've got players coming in from all over the world, literally. Japan, Norway, we also have some kids from out of California. We have returners. We have about 9-10 returning students. We've made strides in the spring as far as implementing our playing identity and our playing philosophy.
We've got a good little core coming back and we're hoping that will allow our new players to catch on quickly and move in the direction that we want to go."
WHAT COACH WILSON EXPECTS FROM HER RETURNING PLAYERS:
"Our returning group is very resilient. They're fun to be around. Three seniors are back, including our captain. We have a senior transfer coming in. We also have upperclassmen transferring in.
I think that's going to give us balance in terms of maturity and what to expect. They've already been in college athletics and playing soccer. Coming in, it should be a smooth transition. They have to adjust to ASU a little bit, but as far as producing the kind of play that we want, I think they'll be able to step up."
HOW SHE TRIES TO MANUFACTURE TEAM CHEMISTRY WITH NEW PLAYERS ON THE ROSTER:
"From our first meeting, we'll get in little groups and you start telling about yourself. Then you have to do a presentation and make it big and loud and boost that person up.
Different interconnected activities that allow them to learn about each other, know where they are from, know their story. Right? As quickly as we can get them to know that, they'll start to make connections and relate to each other. Then, as we go on the field, we have different little fun activities that require you to work together. We use that as team-building elements to get them to work together."
WHAT SHE HOPED TO ACCOMPLISH THIS OFFSEASON:
"We really wanted to focus on cohesion, togetherness, and trust.
What we wanted was everyone on the same page, working together as one, and caring about each other. Once we achieve that, the tactical stuff comes afterward."
ON THE TEAM'S SITUATION AT GOALKEEPER:
"We have three new goalies coming in.
We've got Deetya Satyal. She's originally from Nepal, she's coming in from Wheeling University. We brought her in for her experience. She's played three years of college soccer already.
And then we have two freshmen. Slater Copeland is coming out of California and Valentina Espinel is from Ecuador.
They're three different kind of goalkeepers, they've got different games. It's going to be competitive and that's what we want: players who can compete for that spot while still cheering for each other."
ON THE EXCITEMENT GENERATED BY THE WORLD CUP
"Absolutely. It's funny, because we have a player coming in from Norway and their team had the Norway Row celebration they'd do with fans at the end of the game where they'd hit the drum and go 'Ro! Ro!'
We talked to our Norway kid because we'd love for our team to do that. We're trying to bring that soccer culture into our group so our kids can be a part of that.
We had Japan in the World Cup. The United States was in the World Cup. We're just trying to find little elements from those teams that we can use for our kids."
ON SUPPORT FROM THE ASU FAMILY AND RIVER REGION COMMUNITY:
"The support is very important for us. Our student-athletes get to see that Montgomery is a soccer hub.
We want to see fans at the game! It's a family-friendly atmosphere. Come to see us compete! Come and see us play some good football. Just like the World Cup: the tactical things, the team defense, the transitions, the goals, that excitement. We want everyone to come out and experience that."
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The Lady Hornets will prepare for the upcoming year with a pair of home scrimmages on August 9th (against Southern Union) and August 10th (against the University of Mobile) before opening the season against at home against Southern Miss on August 13 at the ASU Soccer Complex.
