JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State's women's soccer team continues to prepare for the 2010 campaign as the season opener is just nine days away.

Since reporting to campus last Thursday, head coach Julie Davis Carlson and staff has put the Gamecocks through training sessions daily. JSU will test Kennesaw State on Saturday with an exhibition duel in Kennesaw, Ga. Match time is set for 6 p.m. CST. The game will mark the first ever in the brand new KSU Soccer Stadium, which will hold 8,300. The facility is the largest women's-only soccer stadium in the world. The on-campus facility will also be home to the Atlanta Beat of the Women's Professional Soccer league.

Carlson has been impressed with the way her squad came back from the summer break along with the leadership that goes along with having a veteran squad.

“The practices have been intense and we have some starters fighting for a position as well as some competition from some other players,” said Carlson. “The biggest thing we have seen so far is how well the returning players have come in and used the things we taught them in the spring and implement those aspects right off the bat.”

Entering her sixth season at the helm of JSU Soccer, Carlson mentioned returning players – Chelsea Pelletier, Emily Bielaga, Eli Arthur and Nathalee Lariviere have provided the spark from a leadership standpoint.

Pelletier, a junior from Fort Worth, Texas, leads a group of three returning players who posted four goals last season. Pelletier carded 31 shots, 15 on goal last season. Bielaga logged the most minutes of any Gamecock player in 2009. Arthur dished out four assists as a freshman, while Lariviere registered three goals last season.

“The biggest thing we have to build on this year is our experience. We have a lot veterans this year and that will help us get off to a great start,” added Carlson.

That experience begins with JSU's trio of seniors – Debbie Matich, Alyshia Madison and Alex Rustad. Madison begins her final season in the Red and White after earning Ohio Valley Conference Second Team honors as a junior.

The Gamecocks open the 2010 season with a pair of home matches at the JSU Soccer Field, beginning on Friday, Aug. 20 against Gardner Webb. Jax State will square off with Georgia State on Sunday, Aug. 22. Match time against GWU is set for 6 p.m.