Cougs hope to build on fast start

The College of Charleston women's soccer team is off to the best start in school history, but the Cougars also know it's all about how they finish.

The Cougars (7-1-1) will be looking to take a big step in the right direction today when they open Southern Conference play against Appalachian State at 7 p.m. at Patriots Point.

"We're definitely ready to put our name out there and show that we can be one of the top teams in the conference," said senior forward Megan Manthey. "We've worked really hard to get to that point. Now we've got to follow through with it."

Manthey's play has been a key to the Cougars' strong start. She leads the SoCon in points (16), goals (6) and game-winning goals (3). She's also tied for the league-lead in assists with four.

The Cougars' solid defense is led by senior goalkeeper Erin Smith has a SoCon-leading four shutouts and a goals-against average of 0.89. "Our training has been more intense and I'm better focused than I ever was," she said. "Our team has a lot of confidence in all three of our keepers. Their confidence in us gives us a boost."

The fast start for the Cougars is no accident. Eighth-year coach Kevin Dempsey said the team worked hard in the spring on finishing close games the right way. "We had improved individually but we were struggling to win close games," he said. "We worked on strength and conditioning. Our motto was, 'Fall championships are won in the spring. Learn how to win 1-0 games.' "

Dempsey also credits a solid nucleus of returning talent from the '07 team that finished 6-2-2 in the league and advanced to the SoCon Tournament semis.

"We've been building this thing for awhile and the opportunity to have a large junior and senior class has been the big thing," he said. "We've got seven juniors on this team who started as freshmen."

The Cougars were picked to finish fifth in a preseason poll of SoCon coaches. Today they hope to begin the process of proving they're better than that.

"Hey, I think we have a chance to win it," Dempsey said. "If I don't believe it as their coach, how are they going to believe it? The results over the next month or so will speak for themselves."