In the challenging Canada West conference, maintaining a playoff position can be tough. But for the past four years, that's exactly what Vanessa Martinez Lagunas and the Bisons women's soccer team have been able to do.  

"We always try to improve by one step compared to the prior year. That's our mentality in everything that we do," says the head coach, who will enter her seventh year at the helm in 2019.

"On the field, off the field, individually in our personal lives. I think that's something that the girls have really embraced."

That constant improvement was on display in 2018, as Manitoba earned their best divisional ranking (third place) in program history since the conference was divided in Prairie and Pacific.

Now, the squad is hungry to take that next step.

"I think we have consolidated the program now in the middle of the pack, qualifying consistently in the playoffs," Martinez Lagunas says. "I think the girls really want to make a push this year and see if we can start getting into the top tier. We're going to work really hard for it and hopefully we can achieve it."

Defence will be a major strength

Positionally, Manitoba's back end should be a strength yet again in 2019. Last season, the program set a new record for goals against with just 15 and the core is back, including fourth-year co-captains Hayley Ward and Shaylyn Dyck, as well as fellow fourth-year Haydn Burdeny third-year Katherine Meo and second-year Rebecca Waterman.

"First of all, they are girls that really want to learn. They are keen to understand the concepts defensively and they work really hard," their head coach says.

"We try to learn from our defeats, so I always tell them there will be defeats and there will be wins, but we will continue to improve if we learn from those defeats. Sometimes it's hard but these girls have stuck together, they fight together and spent a lot of time training and watching video. They have a lot of input in what we do and how we do it, so I give them a lot of credit for that."

Ward and Dyck in particular will key to Manitoba's success in the defensive end. Dyck was named the team's Rookie of the Year and Defender of the Year in 2016-17, while Ward played in 11 games as a rookie, starting ten and earned Defender of the Year honours the following season. Both athletes have been referred to as "the glue guys," by their head coach.

"Hayley and Shay are great leaders. We have also spent a lot of time this preparation period, since January to May, reading leadership books and discussing them and trying to learn from them. I think both of them and I got some really good lessons and concepts that we want to apply this year," Martinez Lagunas says.

"Overall, they are great leaders by example and I think they want to get to the next leadership level, which is to lead also more vocally. I expect them to be more vocal on the field and to motivate their teammates, especially when things aren't going in the right direction."

Goaltending position open for the taking

With the graduation of Madison Wilford, Manitoba enters the 2019 season without a proven number one in net. Three netminders, in second-years Karina Bagi and Alexis Anderson, as well as rookie Anna Biebrich will be vying for the job.

Bagi, a British Columbia native and standout for Thompson Okanagan FC as well as Okanagan Mission Secondary School may have the early leg up due to her size at 6'0", however Anderson — an impact player for Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Thunder Bay, Ontario — as well as Biebrich, the starter for Team Manitoba during the 2017 Canada Games, all have what it takes.

It also helps that Wilford is back as the team's goalkeeping coach this season, which should help in terms of communication and trust.

"The goalkeeping position has a lot of elements that the girls need to master. It's not only shot-stopping, it's playing with their feet, because they are a field player plus a goalkeeper, so field distribution is key and of course leadership and communication with the back line and the team overall is really important. I'll still be looking at all three of them during the pre-season and towards the end of the pre-season then I'll make a decision in terms of who is going to be our number one," says Lagunas.

Bisons look for scoring touch in 2019

Positionally, Manitoba's forward/midfield took the biggest hits this offseason.

Gone are former captains Amanda Wong and Alanna Shaw at the midfield and forward positions, respectively, as well as striker Bruna Mavignier, the team's most valuable scoring threat over the years with 19 career regular season goals.

But despite those key losses, there will still be plenty of firepower this year, led by second-year midfielder Nicole Davis. The soccer and track athlete is fresh off a season where she was named to the U SPORTS All-Rookie team after scoring three goals and two assists due in large part to her speed.

Fellow returning midfielders such as Hailey Lavarias — who had four points a year ago — as well as Gabrielle Clark, a former Conference USA All-Freshman while at Louisiana Tech and Mackie Burdeny are also all primed for success this season.

Tack on impact recruit Dalima Chhibber, a former captain for India at the U19 and national level with 12 goals to her name and the Bisons shouldn't have too much trouble finding the back of the net.

"Last year, we were very successful defensively. We set the program record for lowest number of goals against, which was huge. Now we want to also complement that with more offensive power," Martinez Lagunas says.

"We're spending a lot of time in improving the relationships between the midfield and forward positions, especially the final pass and decision in the final third."

Manitoba kicks off the regular season on Friday, Sept. 6 at home against Saskatchewan at 7 p.m. The game is also Minor Soccer Night, with teams able to register by Sept. 4 to get free tickets. Also, U of M students get in free and those in attendance are entered to win a free iPad courtesy of Westoba Credit Union.