The Miami University Women’s Soccer team wrapped up a spring exhibition season following a rough 2011 regular season where the team finished 9-8-1.

The RedHawks finished the spring season 1-4, facing stout competition from the University of Louisville, Northern Kentucky University, Wright State University, the University of Kentucky and California University (Pa.).

After a season of ups and downs, the spring season was filled with a preview of what the ’Hawks will face in the 2012 season. Head Coach Bobby Kramig said he is trying to build a foundation for his young club, helping them get big game experience to raise their performance level.

“We were a really young team last season, with only one senior who really played and 23 of our 28 players being freshmen or sophomores,” Kramig said. “During the spring, we experimented a lot with the lineup, to see what best suites us against higher competition. I’m looking forward to this season, because we’re returning nine starters. We should be more comfortable with each other and gel on the field.”

Miami has 10 home games in 2012, with six new opponents, three of which were NCAA Tournament teams in 2011. Some of the teams the Red and White will face are Belmont University, Northwestern University, Xavier University, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and Radford University.

Senior Captain Jess Kodiak said she is also looking forward to the harder competition.

“We feel like we are physically and mentally ready to handle harder competition,” Kodiak said. “We’d rather have things harder so we can prove we are a force to be reckoned with. I know the spring games didn’t give us the results we wanted, but the experience was good for us. Now we know how to handle being in slugfest type of games and we have legitimate opportunities to be in positions to win some of the harder games in our schedule coming up in the fall.”

The RedHawks finished fifth in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division last season and ninth in the entire conference. They are looking to improve within the conference and hope to compete for a MAC Title.

“We want to win the MAC first; that’s always first with us,” Kramig said. “We accomplish that, and competing for an NCAA berth will be next on the list.”

This season look for the team to gain more experience and comfort with playing with each other, which should lead to more victories on the field.