ELON, N.C. – Just three days remain until the Elon University women's soccer team opens its 2018 campaign under first year head coach Neil Payne on Thursday, Aug. 16, at Liberty.
 
After a few more days of training sessions and film review, the Phoenix concluded its exhibition slate with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Coastal Carolina on Saturday night, Aug. 11. Payne got a chance to give a few more players opportunities to get some playing time and for more player partnerships to develop with the regular season opener just around the corner.
 
"Coastal Carolina was a good matchup for us because it gave us a chance to try some players out, it showed us a couple of player partnerships that worked, and we were curious to see if others would evolve," said Payne. "We were particularly pleased with the second-half performance during the match. I think what we got out of that game was that although some things didn't work, but we were really pleased with some of the selections in terms of successful partnerships. I gave us a chance to try a few things in terms of formations, make some tactical adjustments and try out different personnel. So while our strongest eleven players were out there at the same point in time during the match, it was a good chance to see where our players are at heading into the season."
 
Payne, who took over the women's soccer program this past February after spending the previous three seasons as the associate head coach at Texas Tech, inherits a Phoenix team that went 9-6-4 in 2017 and returns five of 11 from last year's starters. Overall, 20 letterwinners from a season ago are back for the maroon and gold. Elon has also infused a talented group of 10 freshmen into the fold heading into the new season.
 
After losing half the starting lineup from last season, the first-year coach has asked other returning players and the newcomers to step up and assume more responsibility. So far, coach has been pleased with what he has seen from the team.
 
"It has been great that some of our younger players come straight into the lineup and have made an impact," Payne said. It's great for their college careers, but not ideal in the same respect because we can't ease them into the college game. We lost five starters from last year's team. Considering that I've asked some of our players to step up and assume some of the roles and responsibly that have left the program, at this point they are doing really well."
 
The Phoenix will spend the final two days of preseason preparing of the upcoming season. Elon opens its 2018 campaign on Thursday, Aug. 16, with a 7 p.m. road contest at Liberty.