With preseason preparations underway at Hillside Stadium, the women’s and men’s WolfPack soccer teams are back in action with new faces, different expectations and their sights set on the season ahead.

“Today was our first real day on the pitch, kicking the ball around. It’s been good. The smoke hasn’t been cooperating with us, but overall, it’s been a pretty good few days,” said WolfPack women’s co-captain Bella Geremia.

For the men’s team, preseason has already shown improvement from last year. Players arrived with their required documentation completed and met the physical standards set by the team.

“Before the season began, we made it very clear that we wanted the guys to arrive ready to go and in shape,” said WolfPack men’s captain Domenico Commita. “There was a specific and clear standard for what we wanted the players to achieve on physical tests, and we reached that standard. That was step one.”

“Those are the fundamentals. That’s the difference this year. These small steps will take us a long way.”

From individuals to a team

Beyond physical preparation, the men’s team is also trying to change its approach on the field. The WolfPack is looking to move away from individual play and build a more collective approach.

“Working together as a unit,” said WolfPack men’s coach John Antulov. “The last couple of years, we had a lot of individuality. Now we want to take that individuality, and what we are trying to do is get the guys to realize that they will have more success if the group does well.”

For fifth-year players like Commita, building that collective mentality is also about leaving something behind for the next generation of the WolfPack.

“I’m looking at things from the perspective of how I can take everything I’ve learned over the past years and help build something within this group that lasts,” said Commita.

“No matter where we are at the end of the season, as long as I feel the group is close and can continue moving forward, I’ll be happy.”

The WolfPack mentality

The WolfPack women’s team is taking a similar approach, looking to strengthen its team philosophy and carry that mentality into every aspect of the game.

“We want to have a WolfPack mentality. We hunt together, compete together, and remain unified. That’s what makes a wolf pack strong in the wild, and we’ve adopted that as our identity this year,” said WolfPack women’s head coach Mark Pennington.

That philosophy is also reflected in the relationships players have built with one another.

“We’re a really strong and collective team as a whole, and we have good relationships with one another,” said Geremia. “I think that if we continue building on those relationships, we’re going to be a force both on and off the field.”

Building from last year’s lessons

Last season’s results have also shaped how the WolfPack women are approaching the new campaign, with consistency becoming a key focus for the team.

“We had a really good first half of the season last year, but the second half wasn’t quite where we wanted it to be,” said Pennington. “We need to prepare in a way that allows us to have two strong halves of the season.”

Playoffs the target for WolfPack women

After falling just short last season, the objective is clear for the WolfPack women: find consistency throughout the campaign and turn it into a playoff appearance, with hopes of going even further.

“Our goal this year is definitely to make the playoffs,” said Geremia. “We finished one game short last year, which was very unfortunate. This year, we’re pushing for a playoff spot and hopefully a place in the Final Four as well.”