After surprising the Capital Athletic Conference last season with a sixth-place finish in its first year in the league, the Hood College women’s soccer team is hoping for a repeat performance this fall. Head coach Jen Wood returns for her third season at the helm and welcomed her largest recruiting class yet to add depth to an already potent lineup.

The Blazers finished sixth in the league last year and return 12 letterwinners from that squad. This season, Hood will have to equal or improve on its 3-5 conference record in order to make a return trip to the playoffs. In new tournament format adopted this summer, only the top six teams in the nine-team conference advance to the post-season, which places even greater importance on each league contest.

Wood returns her top five scorers from last season, four of which tallied double figures in total points. Freshman phenom Cara Jordan paced the Blazers in goals (7) and assists (5) in her rookie campaign and will be one of Hood’s top threats in the midfield. Jordan made history last season against Villa Julie College (now Stevenson University) when she became the first Hood women’s soccer player to score a goal in a CAC contest. Her goal proved to be the game-winner as the Blazers shutout the Mustangs for their first-ever CAC triumph at Thomas Athletic Field. Junior Whitney Boyer who missed last season due to an injury, also had a sensational freshman year in 2006, scoring a team-best 10 goals, the fifth-highest single season total all-time. Senior Jessica Parrish and junior Nikki Antalffy scored five goals apiece last season and should add some scoring punch to the Hood offense.

At the other end of the pitch, sophomore Rachelle Buhrman showed few signs of intimidation last season in her first season in the net. She started all 18 games for the Blazers and posted seven shutouts with a 1.72 goals-against average. She and freshman Kirsten Cacciola from Smithsburg High School will split time in goal. Another steady stopper that Wood will rely on at the defensive end is junior defender Laura Hines, who has started all 36 games in her Blazer career.

“We are starting to really play together and the entire team gets along really well,” said Wood. “We need to work on playing faster as a team to keep up with some of the stronger teams in our conference. This is the largest squad I’ve had since I have been here and we just keep getting stronger and better each year.”

Hood hosts four CAC opponents this season, including Gallaudet University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Wesley College and Salisbury University.