Now in his second at the helm of the Toledo women's soccer team, Head Coach Mark Batman leads a squad that features nine returning starters and 15 total newcomers. Batman looks to build on a 2023 season in which the Rockets improved by five wins to finish with a 7-9-2 record.
 
Through the first weeks of practice and now having played two games, what are your impressions of the team?
 
Batman: We're better than last year, for sure. We're more athletic, we're deeper in multiple positions and we're more competitive. Personally, I think we should be 2-0. We got off to a slow start at IU Indy and had a couple weather delays and struggled to handle that well, but we could have scored three of four goals in the second half. Cincinnati was a tough opponent, a very athletic group. I thought we had them most of the game. The goals we gave up were very avoidable higher up the field. When you have a young team, those are some mistakes you have to learn from right now so you don't repeat them down the road.
 
I love the group. They're really good collection of personalities and a competitive group that returns lots of minutes but we also brought in some really good young players.
 
What positives stood out to you from those first two games?
 
Batman: Our versatility and depth stood out to my assistants and me. That will be important moving forward.
 
You return nine starters from last season. How have those returners shaped expectations for this year?
 
Batman: It's interesting because some of those girls have had role changes from being a starter last year to becoming a reserve this year. How well they adjust to that will determine how successful we will be. Getting some of those players that were starters last year to use their experience and contribute as role players to help us win games is going to be crucial for us.
 
You also have brought in three freshmen and 12 transfers. What have they brought to the team in the early going?
 
Batman: The transfers all bring experience and a different maturity level of professionalism and experience. All three are a little bit different. Agnes Stenlund is a goalkeeper who brings some really good game experience, brings some physical presence and is getting more comfortable vocally. Dalaney Ranallo brings us leadership and a 'been there, done that' mentality, along with an unbelievable physical and vocal field presence. Tori Lyncha, after not getting a ton of minutes at Xavier, probably played her best collegiate game on Sunday against Cincinnati. She is starting to get into the flow of finding ways to be a key contributor for us.
 
Among the freshmen, Gabrielle Anulare obviously had a great day on Sunday. Once Cameron Cole scores one goal, she's going to score 10, and same thing with players such as Morgan Spitler and Amya Usher. Once all of these freshmen get used to the pace and the physicality of college soccer, they're going to be just fine.
 
What have the returning assistant coaches Cliff Brandmier and Sam Turner brought to the coaching staff, as well as new assistant Dave Knapp?
 
Batman: Cliff's and Sam's roles have stayed relatively the same. I think year two is always the most challenging for the coaching staff because our expectations are higher. We know we're more competitive and more athletic. We don't want to allow our own personal goals for the team to interfere with the group development. Those two have been key.

Dave brings in a completely different personality to the staff. He's an older guy, a friend of mine for a long time, a very good goalkeeper coach, which also allows Sam more time to work with the field players and develop that aspect of her coaching. It's a coaching staff that complements each other well.
 
Talk about your players' leadership. How is that structured and how does it help the rest of the team?
 
Batman: For us, the captain is just the person that goes out for the coin toss. We have a leadership council that is made up of four players – Emily Mann, Olivia Dault, Miranda Sullivan and McKenna Schultz. Collectively, those four each bring something different to that leadership table. Dault is the most vocal, followed by Mann. Miranda and McKenna tend to sit back, watch and digest things and then give their perspective, while Dault and Mann are always the first ones to answer a question. They bring in some different leadership styles and there's some younger players that have shown that they can take on some leadership roles as well.
 
Ultimately, we don't have a traditional leadership structure with a few captains like some teams do. I feel like if you're a good leader, you're a good leader and you don't need the label.
 
What have you seen from the group that may be a little different than last year? Any specific motivations?
 
Batman: I think they just want to win more. Some programs have a team motto, but ours is always simply 'winning mentality.' From day one of preseason, we try to break down what that mentality means for them, because every single day they want to win and have that mentality. I think they don't know what that looks like every single day and there's been a lot of teaching and a lot of conversation on what that looks like and how they can have benchmarks to make their goals attainable.
 
The group wants to make the conference tournament and advance. They want to not just get in as a six-seed but get in as a top four and get a chance to host a game in the tournament. We'll need a lot to go our way, but a key will be that our freshmen play above their class level.
 
You have a tough non-conference schedule, including against two Power Four schools in Cincinnati and Northwestern. How will those non-conference games build you for conference play?
 
Batman: It's a fine balance of being challenged and gaining confidence. Even with the loss Sunday (to Cincinnati), the girls know they played really well and just left some goals out there, and got unlucky at times. For example, we had a really good buildup and Spitler diced a kid and got the shot off, only for the goalkeeper to make the save and the rebound to bounce off Grace Turski wide. That could have won the game based on momentum alone.
 
That's why we play those games – not to dwell too much on the losses but to build on the positives, such as at IU Indy, where we gave up a deflection goal off of a corner kick early, but didn't allow a chance in the second half. We just needed goals from all of the opportunities we were creating. If we keep doing the right things, good things are going to happen.
 
With the Olympics wrapped up and the U.S. Women's National Team winning gold, could you talk about how those athletes have helped grow the game? What influence have they had on your players and staff?
 
Batman: I think the U.S. winning gold is great, especially with the young roster they brought to the Olympics. It's great for women's soccer and the new coaching staff there. They've set the bar really high for themselves, but women's soccer is gaining more and more traction and attention, which is great for all of us. The more success they have, the more visual women's soccer will be. As far as influence, that's probably a better question for our players. However, the USWNT players' influence comes not only from them playing soccer, but their influence on social media. So, our players get to watch them not only for soccer, but watch them as human beings.