MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Anticipation for the 2013 season is in full swing, as Middle Tennessee Soccer returned to campus this week.
The Blue Raiders began fitness training on Thursday as MT preps for its inaugural season in Conference USA.
Middle Tennessee welcomes back 17 members of the 2012 team that finished 14-5-1 overall and clinched a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season title with an 8-1-1 record in league play. Returning for the Blue Raiders includes Kate Loye, the 2012 Sun Belt Freshmen of the Year and an All-Sun Belt First team selection. Earlier this week, Loye was named a C-USA Preseason Player to Watch.
The Blue Raider roster is one of the youngest in the country, joining two other NCAA Division I programs (Jacksonville State and VMI) with no seniors. MT has a total of four juniors, 13 sophomores and 11 incoming freshmen.
"It's really exciting to get started," noted 12th year head coach Aston Rhoden. "I am looking forward to the challenges that the new league brings. With such a young team, it's going to be fun to see them develop throughout the course of the preseason."
Rhoden has a career mark of 131-74-21 and was named the 2012 Sun Belt Coach of the Year. His winning percentage of .626 is fourth among active coaches in C-USA.
The Blue Raiders host a pair of exhibition matches against Belmont at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 16 and Martin Methodist on Sunday, August 18 at 4 p.m. MT opens the regular season on the road against UT Martin on Sunday, August 25. Conference USA action begins on Friday, Sept. 27 versus UAB.
