The 2014-2015 women’s soccer club opened its season by recruiting as many new players as possible.

Liz Bravo, a junior from Rockford studying biological sciences, and club president, said she has played soccer since she was 6 years old, and is optimistic about this year.

“This is a rebuilding season for us since we lost a lot of players last semester,” Bravo said. “Four or five girls are returning from last year.”

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Brittany Minninch, a sophomore from Tinley Park studying therapeutic recreation, and vice president, said the club will do a lot better than last semester.

Minnich said the new girls on the team are positive and enthusiastic.

“At the RSO fair, we had more than 60 girls sign up for the club,” Minnich said. “At the first practice, 15 showed up, which is a solid number for a team.”

Last season, the team was in the Woman’s Midwest Alliance Soccer Conference, but because they had so few players, they were dropped from the conference.

“Eleven players [are] needed for fielding, but we aim for 15 to 18 players,” Bravo said.

A team in the conference plays about 10 games each season.

Once the team recruits enough players, it will look to join the WMASC again.

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In the mean time, it will play local high school teams in Carbondale for extra playing time.

“We didn’t play any games last semester,” Minnich said. “I hope to play at least 3 games this semester.”

Like all club sports, money for the group comes from members and the Recreation Center Executive Board.

Brittney Noble, a senior from Darien studying business management, and club secretary said funding for travel, uniforms and spirit wear will depend on how many members the team ends up with.

All club sports meet with the Recreation Center Executive Board to present their plans for the money they are granted, on the first Wednesday of each month.

Funding aside, club leaders are looking to make this season a positive experience for anyone who joins.

“This semester, I’m focusing on rebuilding,” Minnich said. “Making it more fun so more girls come out, meet new people, making new friends, getting involved and knowing more about their school.”

Bravo said it is exciting to see more interest in the club on campus.

“Outside of practice and games, I would want to incorporate more bonding with the rest of the team to make them want to keep playing,” Bravo said.

Although the team would be working on the growth of its players, it hopes to work on individual skills as well as team skills.

Noble said she hopes to get more girls to come out, even though it already started.

“We are just looking to have a lot of fun and form it like a group of friends getting together, hanging out, getting a good workout, and playing some soccer,” she said.

The team is open to having new members year round and looks to recruit and maintain a positive attitude throughout the year.

The team practices from 7 to 9 p.m. each Monday at the intramural fields, and 7 to 9 p.m. each Wednesday and Thursday at the track and field complex.

Gabriella Scibetta can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter @gscibetta or at 536-3311 ext. 254