ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After ending a two-year MIAC playoff drought in 2017, the College of Saint Benedict soccer team looks to make it back to the conference tournament again in 2018, and make a run at a MIAC title along the way.
 
Saint Benedict starts its 2018 campaign Friday and Saturday, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, in Virginia, and its first two opponents might be two of its toughest of the season. CSB starts the year against No. 24 Virginia Wesleyan on Aug. 31, then takes on No. 17 Christopher Newport Saturday. Both games are in Virginia Beach, Va. Both VWU and CNU made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, and CNU has won two straight conference titles.
 
CSB – which finished the 2017 season 9-3-4 overall and 5-3-3 and fourth in the conference – returns plenty of talent from last year's squad, which lost in a shootout in the first round of the MIAC Tournament. Up front, sophomore Megan Thompson is back after a first-year season that saw her lead the team in scoring and earning MIAC Rookie of the Year honors. Thompson looks for another hot start to the season after scoring four goals in her collegiate debut a year ago.
 
Back to lead the defense is junior Meghan Verkinderen, an All-MIAC First Team selection last year. CSB also returns Kendall Koenen, an All-MIAC Honorable Mention pick in the net as a sophomore in 2017. She was named the team's MVP after recording 70 saves and six shutouts. Backing up Koenen this season will be first year Kayli Thulin, who earned all-conference honors at Waconia last season.
 
Also back for CSB this season is junior Mara Flaherty, who had three goals last season, and defenders Corrine Seehusen – a senior who played in all 16 games as a junior – and Sydney Sherek, a junior who scored two goals in 15 games.
 
Last season, Saint Benedict played home games at three different fields as its new turf field was being completed. This season, the team will be housed solely at the new complex across College Avenue, and looks to take advantage of that as much as possible. The team's first home game is Saturday, Sept. 8, when it hosts Wartburg at 1 p.m. That also marks the team's next game after returning from the East Coast.