A year ago, women's soccer coach Paul Lawrence welcomed 30 new student-athletes to campus, his first full class of recruits since joining the Prairie Fire in early 2014.

Within four months, those newcomers had led Knox women's soccer to its best-ever season record (13-5-2) and come within a single overtime goal of winning the MIdwest Conference championship.

This season, with 26 of those players returning, along with seven new recruits, the Prairie Fire have become a team to watch. In fact, a preseason poll of Midwestern Conference coaches ranks Knox third overall behind Lake Forest, who Knox defeated in the first round of last year's conference tournament, and St. Norbert.

"We had a remarkable season last year," says Coach Paul Lawrence. "We now have a target on our back, and teams will know what to expect from our style of play." He expects the addition of seven new players to help. "We must improve our overall game from last year; there is a level of expectation surrounding the team, and we must be ready to deal with that pressure and embrace it."

The Prairie Fire opened their season on September 1 with a 2-0 shutout against Illinois Institute of Technology and have 3-0 record for the season. See the complete women's soccer schedule.