It's a new era for the York University Lions women's soccer team but the end goal of a championship season remains the same.
 
The Lions have been one of the most dominant teams in the OUA over the last three regular seasons with 38 wins and six ties in their 48 contests. However, each season has ended in heartbreaking fashion with a trio of penalty kicks losses in the playoffs, preventing the team from playing for a conference championship and qualifying for the national tournament.
 
Expectations remain high that the Lions can be in position to challenge for the top again this season, but it will be a new roster of players leading the squad after the graduation of many of the top starters over the past couple of years, most notably scoring leader Nour Ghoneim, who is now part of the coaching staff.
 
Head coach Carmine Isacco worked hard in the off-season to rebuild the roster and is optimistic the Lions will continue to sit near the top of the standings.
 
"We have done a lot of recruiting and we have brought in a number of good young players who will have the opportunity to make an impact right away," said Isacco. "We don't want to have a drop-off or talk about rebuilding. We've set a standard here and will continue to maintain it. We will not focus on what we lost but on what we have, and we've added some exciting new players."

 
Yoana Peralta has the potential to make an immediate difference in the midfield thanks to her creativity and technical ability, and fellow rookie Ally Bruder is a speedy wing player who is particularly strong in one-on-one situations. On the back end, Jessica Lush is a 5-foot-10 defender who came to York from Nova Scotia and will give opposing offences fits as they try and get past her to the goal.
 
They will have some tremendous veterans to guide them on the field this season in team captains Tomika McIntosh and Christina Morelli. McIntosh is a two-time OUA West all-star centre back and is the leader for the Lions' defence, while Morelli has played at both midfield and forward and has scored 10 goals in her career, including six last year to finish third in team scoring.
 
Also up front, Ashley Nater returns for her fifth season of eligibility and second with the Lions, and Muhtaj is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign in which she started nine games. In Nater's debut season, she started all 16 matches and scored a pair of goals.
 
The defence will be anchored by Mika Richards, a national team player who has represented Canada at a number of international events and also spent one season in the NCAA at Harding University.
 
The net will be locked down by Taylor Grant, who enters her fifth and final season as one of the best goalkeepers in the OUA. She has started 29 regular-season contests over the last two years, has posted 13 cleansheets and ranked in the OUA's top five in goals against average and save percentage both years.
 
Isacco knows he will need all of his players to come together in order for the Lions to reach the goals they have set for themselves.
 
"The team is the strength, and we've been focused on how we perform as a group defensively and in the attack. The most important thing for us is having a lot of contributors doing their parts to benefit the whole."
 
If they can do that, the Lions will have a real chance to take the next step and earn a trip to Winnipeg this November with a berth at the national championships.