SUNY New Paltz Women's Soccer Coach Mike Eckberg wants to ride a bus. Not a bus to Buffalo or Plattsburgh -- not yet, anyway. He'll have his chance for those bus rides later in the season. Right now, Eckberg wants to ride a figurative bus: the energy bus. 

"I have my wallet out," Eckberg said during a drill in practice. "Now you have to show me whether or not I want to buy a ticket and get on your bus."

The metaphor stems from energy being a point of emphasis in the preseason. Eckberg is looking for his players to play with high energy for a full 90 minutes, knowing that it can often be the difference in a game. His players are receiving the message well and working on their energy on and off the field.

"In the spring, the returners talked a lot about what was missing last season," said Hawks junior midfielder Kristin Lasker. "And the thing that we talked a lot about was energy. Energy in the locker room, as well as on the field was a key part that was missing. So this year we have really been emphasizing a degree of positive energy all the time. That is pumping us up and helping us perform better than I've ever personally seen us perform." 

Coming off a two-win season, SUNY New Paltz will look to use this energy to turn things around for the program. Along with positive energy, there is some new energy in the blue and orange as well. Eckberg brought in a recruiting class of nine first-year students who make up 36 percent of the team's roster. Though they're bound to make mistakes, Eckberg can't wait to see them in action.

"It's exciting to see that each freshman has something to offer," the third-year coach said. "I think they're going to make significant contributions throughout the year, and one of our upperclassmen mentioned after our scrimmage against Vassar that she couldn't even tell they were freshmen."

Although being a first year student athlete can have its challenges, the new additions to the Hawks have fit in seamlessly and they have not only gotten Eckberg's attention, but the entire team as well. 

"They have meshed so well," Lasker said. "They were a little quiet off the field at first, but after a few days we brought out their goofy personalities. On the field, they have done nothing but impress us with their work rate, skill level, and their desire to learn."

Junior defender Monika Morasse added, "they already feel at home with us which is going to be huge towards being successful." 

Both Lasker and Morasse will be centerpieces for SUNY New Paltz in 2019. Lasker, who works the middle of the field, started in 12 games and played the sixth most minutes on the team in 2018. The junior explained that her focus and the focus of other midfielders is on finding the balance between being savvy and playing simple and smart.

"We've been working on finding the right pockets and working the ball to 90 degree angles in different ways," Lasker said. "There's definitely more work to be done there, but seeing it get executed ore and more each day has been really effective for us."

Morasse started in 16 of her 17 appearances in 2018 and tied the team-high for goals scored. However, this season she'll have a different view of the field. The versatile junior will start the season as a member of the defensive line. 

"Being new to the defense, it's been really helpful to have my backs telling me where to go with the ball, but the most important thing is that we defend as a group and that we shift together," Morasse said. "When we do that well, it really works for us."

The Hawks took on Vassar in a scrimmage Aug. 21 and although they fell 2-1, there were still positives to take away. Eckberg thought his squad put together a "relatively sound" first 30 minutes where they were clicking. Knowing things wouldn't go perfectly so early in the season, he took an optimistic approach both going into the scrimmage and afterwards.

"We emphasized that our mistakes need to be viewed as teachable moments," Eckberg said. "I felt as though individually we really tried to work through some of the things we were struggling with and overall, it was a good performance that we can build off of."

SUNY New Paltz will open its non-conference schedule Friday, as it travels to Pennsylvania to take on Dickinson College. The Red Devils finished the 2018 season with a record of 11-4-4, and advanced to the Centennial Conference Semifinals (CCS) before falling to then No. 3 nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins, 3-1. Eckberg expects a good match against a quality opponent.

"When we put together this year's schedule, we wanted to see a top-tier opponent that has the ability to make the NCAA tournament right away," he said. "They're going to be very athletic, very dynamic, and they'll provide a high-level of competition that we'll be ready to meet."

When Eckberg steps off the bus at Dickinson Friday, he'll want to hop right on another bus and ride it all the way to the final whistle. Get the energy flowing. Coach has bought his ticket

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