When Andy Hines was named the head coach of the Brescia University women’s soccer team at the start of the 2024 season, the program was in the midst of a rebuild. A year later, the roster has more than doubled, going from 12 athletes to 31, with 15 of the 19 newcomers being freshmen.
The youth movement has helped spur the Lady Bearcats to a program record 11 wins, surpassing their record of nine wins set in the 2007 season. They also finished this year with six conference wins, a program record.
“It’s pretty awesome. Sometimes people look at NAIA and NCAA and believe that the NCAA is a different level of competition,” Hines said. “NAIA is similar to Division II and Division III. We have a really solid team and great leadership. We only have one senior, and she is a very strong leader.”
Entering the season, Hines and the Lady Bearcats had their eyes on reaching the conference tournament, a goal they were able to accomplish, but were surprised by their overachievement.
“I thought that we had a chance to make the conference tournament,” Hines said. “I think we were always trying to prove the team, so we brought in some quality players. It’s a testimony to the team.”
Hines is no stranger to leading a successful program, having been the head coach of Owensboro Catholic’s girls’ soccer team from 2020-2023. Over that span, the Lady Aces won two 3rd Region Tournament titles and reached the quarterfinals of the State tournament twice.
This evening at 5 pm, the Lady Bearcats are set to take on third-seeded West Virginia University Institute of Technology in the first round of the conference tournament. Brescia lost to them early in the season, 3-1, but Hines and company are confident in their chances.
Tonight’s playoff match will also be the first time the Lady Bearcats have reached the conference postseason since 2022.
“It feels really exciting and that was a goal,” Hines said. “Last year, we missed it by one point. It was a really poor feeling to miss it by one point. This year, we secured our playoff spot two games prior to the season ending, so that was a really big accomplishment.”
Moving forward, Hines and his coaching staff want to continue to change the culture of the program and build a lasting legacy.
“As a player and as a group, we are always trying to improve,” Hines said. “The biggest thing is we want to be consistent getting there. So, working as a whole from the coaching staff to the players to improve is our biggest thing. We also want to continue to build a legacy and change the culture of the program.
