Women's soccer team opens new season on the road

The Eastern Florida State College women's soccer team will open the new season on the road this weekend.

The Titans, who are ranked 14th in the preseason NJCAA Division I National poll, will open the regular season in Tennessee against No. 17 Motlow State College. The battle of top 20 teams begins at 3 p.m. CDT and is the first of two games over the weekend for the Titans.

Eastern Florida State College has reloaded its roster after a nine-win season but does have a solid core of players to lead this year's team. Phoebe Wilson is back after starting 13 games and playing in all 15, scoring three goals and assisting on three others. Kanon Tai is also back and started all 15 games last season in the midfield. Jazira Gonzalez started 12 games on the defensive side of the field and Thea Patuel started 12 times. Overall, eight players are back from last season.

Motlow State College is coming off a 15-win season and made the Central District Championship game last season. The Bucks are led by Elva Nunes who had 18 goals and five assists in 21 games last season as a freshman. The 18 goals tied for 12th in the nation last season.

Motlow State also has three other players that scored at least three goals last season and five others who played at least 11 games last season, giving the Bucks an experienced and offensive group.

Then on Sunday the Titans will play Calhoun Community College at 2 p.m. CDT on Sunday to wrap up the trip.

Eastern Florida State College will be home on Monday, September 1 against Butler Community College at Orlando Health Stadium. Butler Community College is ranked 11th in the preseason poll and is coming off a 13-win season. The game will begin at 10 a.m. and fans can watch it live online at the EFSC Titans YouTube page.