Considering the state of Ball State soccer after the 2009 season, rebuilding the program seemed like a four-year challenge.
Scars remained from the departure of Michelle Salmon and the disappointment under Michael Lovett. The team needed a new identity and a fresh start.
When Ball State hired Craig Roberts in 2010, that's exactly what it got.
In the first season under Roberts, the team took on the attitude and approach of its coach and nearly doubled the win total from the previous season.
"He came in really, really strong the first year and wanted to make a point that he was going to turn this program around," junior co-captain Skylar Chew said. "He continues to add to that."
In the second year of Roberts' tenure, the team will keep that same mentality.
The Cardinals will get a new home field for this coming season. The team will move from the old soccer field across from IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital to the Briner Sports Complex just north of Scheumann Stadium.
But a new swagger and turf field aren't the only things different at practice this season.
Twelve freshmen make up the first full recruiting class brought in by Roberts. He arrived too late to fill out his rosters last year with more than a few of his selected players.
Ball State isn't known as a soccer powerhouse, but Roberts wasn't shy in recruiting top players this season. He brought in 2011 Gatorade Kansas Soccer Player of the Year Hannah Chadick and Czech Republic National Team member Pavla Benyrova, just two of the talented players who will be newcomers this season.
Scoring problems haunted Ball State last season and Roberts vowed he would bring in playmakers to fix the problem.
The arrival of freshman talent didn't go unnoticed by the upperclassmen.
"At first I was like, ‘All right coach, why aren't you staying local?," junior co-captain Brigit Reder said. "But the players he found, the Chadick twins from Kansas, Cailey [Starck] from California, even Pavla from Czech, they're definitely going to contribute.
"They are a talented group of freshman. [I was] definitely impressed."
Sophomore forward Robyn Miley is back from injury to go alongside experienced juniors Paige Stroinski and Maggie Brown to give the Cardinals firepower up front this season. Roberts is confident scoring goals will no longer be an issue.
"One of the good things about this recruiting class is their confidence in their own ability," Roberts said. "I think they've got a lot of upside to them. I think we'll be a lot more consistent [scoring goals] than we were last year."
Ball State started last season strong before inconsistency plagued its Mid-American Conference play. Roberts will have plenty of bodies he can mix and match out on the field until something clicks.
There are 31 players on the roster, but NCAA rules only allow for 14 scholarship players on the roster. Roberts says he is taking a look at everyone, and it's making practice very competitive.
Depth and lack of scoring were two of the Cardinals biggest problems last year. With both of those seemingly fixed, a buzz is forming around the team.
"We want to improve on what we did last year," Roberts said. "Just keep progressing the program forward and making the reputation of Ball State soccer grow. To compete for a MAC Championship is the ultimate goals for us."
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