The past four seasons for Florida Tech women's soccer have seen quite the return to glory for the program. A Final Four appearance in 2023, a trip to the Elite Eight in 2021, consecutive Sunshine State Conference regular season championships, an SSC Tournament championship in 2024, along with three other appearances in the SSC Tournament Final, as well as five different players winning SSC awards and two All-Americans. However, as the Panthers are set to embark on the 2025 campaign Friday night against Auburn-Montgomery at Rick Stottler Field off the back of an SSC regular-season tournament championship double, the motivation remains the same. 
 
Head Coach Katy Freels, the 2024 SSC Coach of the Year, returns for her second season at the helm. After serving previously as a volunteer assistant, Freels and her players believe last year's foundation allows them to refine their style.
 
"When we came in last year, it was really important to have a clear identity in how we played, and I think that we were able to communicate it effectively in the fall with a common language, lots of film, lots of meetings, and tactical work. I think that they have the base now," says Freels. "So, we're able to take what we learned in the fall and how we played in our style, and we can add some nuances to them, some wrinkles, be a little bit more creative with setups and rotations. It's exciting for us to get to craft the team, the style of how we want to play around the girls we have and see them buy into it, take heart with what we're trying to teach them, and then execute at a high level on the field."
 
The roster features six returning All-SSC players, including senior forward Lauryn Wood and SSC Goalkeeper of the Year Kaitlin Sinkler. Both emphasized belief and chemistry as driving forces.
 
"I think mostly just having that belief that we are good enough to win the league, we are good enough to compete against strong teams, and we are ourselves a strong team," says Wood. "The proof from last year is how far we made it and how well we did with a lot of newcomers and a new coaching staff, just kind of proved to us that we are good and we can go as far as we want to go."
 
There will be tasks beyond the opponent for Tech. Four starters from last year's 13-3-3 squad have moved on, including three-year starting defender Lydia Carroll, 2024 SSC Defensive Player of the Year Daniela Tobon in midfield, and Second Team USC All-American forward Marta Llopis. One of the defining strengths of the Panthers this decade has been their ability to bring in talent, whether it be through the transfer portal or true freshman, get them to gel with the current roster, and produce almost immediately. A lot of that can be credited to both the coaching staff and the team, making a concerted effort to make sure every newcomer knows they are welcome.
 
"We put a large emphasis on team bonding and making sure that we connect on and off the field before every home game. We like to do team dinners together, and get to know all the new players, whether it be transfers or freshmen coming in," says Sinkler. "In women's sports, how we connect is a very big factor. Our relationships, I think, play a very big role in our success together. I do the majority of my talking with the back line, but it expands to all the field, and we like to make sure that we have at least one voice at each step of the way. Starting from the goalkeeper and the back line to the midfield and up top, because we must communicate across the field."
 
One of those newcomers is Mia Otero, a senior transfer from the Air Force Academy with 12 goal involvements in 30 career games, who will be expected to help fill the goal-scoring vacancy left by Llopis and others. 
 
"When I first talked with Katy, she was very adamant about the playing style that we wanted, and it was really important to be quick passing, enjoying the game, playing with love," says Otero. "She is so intelligent about soccer, and she knows exactly what she's talking about, and playing under her is truly an honor."
 
"I think we're much deeper this year. We have a bigger squad and a lot of very talented players, and a lot of us played together last year too, so we already have that bond," says Wood. "And then strengthening the squad, having all these new players come in, it's just going to give us a lot more depth in the team, so we can go further in the season and stay stronger for longer."
 
The Panthers will challenge themselves often this season, not just in SSC play but elsewhere on the schedule. In total, there are seven opponents who reached last year's NCAA Tournament, including preseason #2-ranked Columbus State on Sunday and #6-ranked Franklin Pierce on October 3^rd, both of whom reached the Final Four. Players and coaches alike view these games as worthy tests if they are to reach their targets again this season.
 
"We were very intentional with scheduling those difficult games. Each region of the country is going to play a little bit differently," says Freels. "I also think us traveling away to those games is exciting, because it's helping to build that toughness, between the travel and the games, and performing, it was all definitely made with the end of the year in mind. Let's test ourselves early and then halfway through the season as well. Let's get the experience under our belts of what it's like to play in those types of games."
 
"I think it's a great opportunity for us to play in a different environment," says Otero. "I'm from Boston, so my sisters are going to come to the games [in the northeast], I think it's amazing."
 
As Sinkler sees it, any opportunity to help the team earn the margins that can take them to a national championship is worth taking, both as a team and personally.
 
"I just want to be someone that's super reliable for our team, that I'm consistent, someone that they can trust," says Sinkler. "If I'm someone that the team can count on and that the team trusts, then that's going to carry on throughout the field and have success all around. I'm okay with not having a high number of saves because a lot of times that means that we're not having a lot of shots taken against us, and I have to credit that to our defense. If they're successful, I can also be successful."
 
It's that attitude, the attention to doing all the little things well everywhere, leading to doing the big things well, that has allowed Florida Tech to become one of the nation's best programs. It's an attitude and culture that has been built in word and in deed over the past handful of years, and it's why both the team and fans can be optimistic that the new season awaiting them could provide a story just like the ones we've read in recent autumns.