With as many as ten players gone from the 2009 roster, the Laurentian women's soccer team will gladly welcome a little luck as the team rebuilds this fall. Lady Luck would indeed come early for the Lady Vees as the team secures three key transfers along with a deep recruiting class to help re-stock the cupboards, as Laurentian looks to remain in the thick of the OUA East Playoff race once again this fall.

A relatively young defensive line received a much appreciated injection of veteran leadership with the news that center back Amy Pitton, formerly of the York Lions, will join coach Rob Gallo and company in the fall.

Joining Pitton among the more experienced "rookies" this year will be Lo-Ellen Park graduate Renee Jacques, already with a couple of years under her belt at Ottawa, along with Crystal Hackett (South Carolina). A native of Connecticut, Hackett is following in the footsteps of her father who played at Laurentian in the 1980s.

The trio are among a very talented incoming class that provides plenty of optimism for Gallo, the only coach the Lady Vees have ever known. High-school graduates making the jump to the OUA ranks who could contribute immediately, include keeper Jaimee Lafraniere (Sudbury - Lockerby), striker Sarah Snyder (Cornwall - La Citadelle) and Leah Ramalho (Brampton - Cardinal Leger), whose brother Mark is a point guard with the L.U. men-s basketball team.

Throw in a handful of veterans from which Gallo is expecting big things (Lisa Watson, Corinne Kandravy, Alicia MacPherson and Leanne Adams, among others) and it's clear that the Lady Vees should not be taken lightly.

"This year provides an opportunity for players to come in and move forward", says Gallo. "Our team is always going to have to outwork the opposition - that is a reality." Recognizing that Laurentian's biggest challenge will remain on the defending side of the ball, Gallo is expected to stick with a very simple game plan.

"We're a program that requires an entire team to work extremely hard." It's a formula that has provided success for Laurentian in the past and could well do so again in 2010.