AT A GLANCE
FMU Lions (0-0) at Ave Maria University Gyrenes (0-0)
When: Saturday, September 19, 2020
Where: Ave Maria University, Ave Maria, Fla. | Gyrene Field
Kickoff: 2 p.m.
Last Meeting: Oct. 17, 2019, Loss 1-5
Live Stream: https://thesundigitalnetwork.com/avemariagyrenes/
Live Stats: https://avemariagyrenes.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
 
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – From the moment it was cemented that there would be fall athletics, Florida Memorial University's women's soccer team and first-year head coach Logan Langseth have been champing at the bit to get on the pitch.
 
When the Lions' originally-scheduled September 5th season-opening match against Florida College was canceled (by Florida College), it meant they'd have to wait another two weeks before it could play a regular season game.
 
FMU will finally have the chance to usher in the "Langseth Era" of its women's soccer program Saturday when the Lions travel to Ave Maria University to face the Gyrenes.
 
Saturday will be the women's soccer season openers for both programs, but it will also be the middle game of a three-sport triple-header between the schools. The women's soccer match is set to kickoff at 2 p.m., after the 11 a.m. men's soccer match, and before the 7 p.m. football game nightcap between FMU and Ave Maria.
 
Saturday's game is also the product of a scheduling adjustment for the women's soccer programs. Florida Memorial was set to host the September 19th game against Ave Maria but it will, instead, now host the later season matchup between the two.
 
Since he was hired, Langseth has set out to set a new culture for FMU women's soccer – one that is founded in trust.
 
"I don't want to know you for four years, I want to know you for life," Langseth said. "Culture feeds everything in my programs. I want my players to know that they can rely on me and I want to be able to rely on them."
 
One of the players that Langseth will be relying on this year will be junior attacker Abbie Watson. Named to the Sun Conference's Preseason Players to Watch List, Watson spent the past two seasons at LSU-Eunice – where she helped lead it to back-to-back NJCAA Region 23 playoff appearances.
 
Watson is just one of the substantial handful of new players on the Lions' roster this season to go along with a new addition to the coaching staff in assistant coach Sarrah Granda. Granda, a former high school and college soccer standout, will bring even more knowledge and experience to the bench next to Langseth and returning assistant Anna Maliszewska.
 
In Ave Maria, the Lions will be facing a team that also had a rough 2019 season. The Gyrenes finished 2-15 this past season and has also had a bit of roster turnover. Sophomore forward Haley Iacona is Ave Maria's top returner and is also considered one of the conference's players to watch.