Last year, the Helias girls soccer program graduated a deep, experienced and talented senior class that delivered finishes of third, second and third in the consecutive trips to the Class 2 Final Four.
So how do the Lady Crusaders plan to replace that group? With a deep, experienced and talented group of returnees.
"We're proud of those girls, six of them played in college this year and had successful seasons," Helias coach Brad Dempsey said. "But we bring back 12 returners, and five were starters. Those (graduated) girls had great leadership and they played hard and were very good players. But we feel really good about the girls stepping into their roles.
"This year is a new team, just like last year was a new team. ... We hope to always graduate great players, then you move on to the next ones."
The confidence is that group comes through when you look at the schedule, which might be even tougher than the rough one Helias has played the past few years. The schedule begins today when the Lady Crusaders open the season at Rock Bridge. The JV game starts at 5 p.m., with the varsity to follow around 6;45 p.m.
"The thing about our schedule is we would have lightened it a little bit, but we have a great deal of confidence in this group," Dempsey said. "Even though we lost some good players and some starters, for a team to return 12 players that played on the varsity, that's a lot. That's more than you need to start a game.
"... The way we look at our schedule is the same. We had eight losses last year, nine the year before. But we've lost just two games in two years by more than one goal. We believe in challenging ourselves, competing at the highest level all year, so we are mentally prepared when we go to the postseason."
A big part of this season may be about managing expectations.
"There's no pressure from us coaches, but people talk to the girls, "Hey, are you going to the Final Four this year? Are you going to win it this year?'" Dempsey said. "These are young people who just want to have fun and play soccer. But this is a good opportunity for them to learn about and play through adversity and play through ups and downs. That's what high-school sports are all about."
Leading the way for the Lady Crusaders are their seniors - defenders Katlyn Cowell and Maddie Lammers; midfielders Abby Farrow, Janie McCurren, Morgan Rundle and Kendall Smith; and Sydnee Kliethermes, who's moving from goalkeeper last year to forward this year.
"We have a strong, strong group of seniors," Dempsey said. "We have seven and they'll all start the season on the field."
The group of juniors includes midfielders Maddie Casten, Maggie Kehoe and Casey Linsenbardt, along with goalkeeper Olivia Wolken. Julie Harris, a forward, will miss the year with a knee injury, while midfielder Emma Wyrick tore an ACL in November and could be back in another six weeks.
"Other girls have opportunities to step up now," Dempsey said. "Last year we had four or five girls who had to sit out at different points in the season, so you just move on and play."
There are 10 sophomores - defenders Lexy Lamb, Claire Ludwig and Paige Paschal; midfielders Torey Mueller, Abby Shepard and Morgan Wieberg; forwards Sarah Pierle, Kelsey Schenewerk and Kayla Yanksey; and goalkeeper Ashley Rehagen.
"It's a really strong sophomore group, led by the three in the back - Lexy Lamb, a returning all-district player; Morgan Wieberg, who is a phenomenal player; and Ashley Rehagen in goal," Dempsey said. "The rest of the class is really, really strong. We're going to carry all those girls on the varsity, keep them together, get them strong, get them experienced.
"Some coaches say they're not looking ahead, but we're always preparing our players, developing our players, so we don't ever have a gap."