BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Lynn University women's soccer team enters the 2026 season with a retooled roster, renewed competition throughout the lineup and expectations that extend well beyond its preseason ranking under sixth-year head coach John Markey.

The Fighting Knights were selected eighth in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Coaches Poll following a difficult 2025 campaign, but Markey believes a roster featuring 17 newcomers and 14 returners has the potential to make a significant jump.

"My expectations for this team this year are definitely higher than that," Markey said. "Our aspiration as a team is to finish much higher."

One of Lynn's biggest strengths entering the fall is in goal, where graduate students Brooke Auth and Emma Brunelli headline a deep and competitive group.

Auth returns after missing the entire 2025 season due to injury. She previously helped guide Lynn to the SSC Tournament in 2024 and continues to work her way back to full strength. In her absence, Brunelli stepped into the starting role last fall and earned praise from Markey for her performance.

Rather than handing either goalkeeper the starting job, Markey expects the competition to continue throughout the season.

"We're going to have two really good goalkeepers, and they're going to have to compete like the rest of the field players do every day," Markey said. "There is this very high, healthy, competitive environment."

The Fighting Knights also feature a reconstructed back line after losing several defenders from last season. Sophomore Payton Kaiser returns after earning significant minutes as a freshman and is expected to take on a larger role.

"She just looks so good," Markey said. "She's loud, she's mature, and we always have to remind ourselves she's only a sophomore."

Kaiser is joined by several newcomers, including graduate transfers Helene Sorbo and Catarina Fernandes, along with Eastern Kentucky transfer Miae Canales and junior college transfer Chyene Whitcomb. Graduate student Isabella Battista also returns from injury, while junior Brooklyn Steiner brings another experienced option after logging significant minutes last season.

Despite the number of new faces, Markey has been encouraged by how quickly the group has come together.

"We look organized back there," Markey said. "For saying that after a week with so many new faces, it's cool."

In midfield, Lynn returns several players Markey believes can become difference-makers in the SSC.

Graduate captain Kayla Bradby remains at the center of the team's leadership and identity.

"She's the heart and soul of this team," Markey said. "If she's on the field, we're better. If she's not on the field, you can see she's missing. She's the glue."

Senior Brisa Sastre has also impressed throughout the preseason and is expected to play an important role as a holding midfielder.

"I don't know a better six in the conference," Markey said. "She tackles hard, wins balls in the air, she's super clean on the ball and covers ground."

Junior Juliana Torres Lopez returns with increased expectations after spending her first two seasons in a variety of roles. Markey believes moving Torres Lopez into her natural central midfield position could allow her to take another step forward.

"She's so competitive," Markey said. "It's rare that one of your most talented players is also one of your hardest workers. I think this year you're going to see what it looks like to have an All-American at Lynn."

Up front, junior transfer Tessa Abreu has already given the Fighting Knights reason for optimism. Abreu joined Lynn ahead of the spring after transferring from Miami Dade and immediately helped provide a spark to the attack. After the Fighting Knights scored four goals across 10 conference matches last fall, Lynn scored eight times during a spring schedule that included two SSC opponents, two Division I programs and a nationally competitive NAIA side. Abreu continued her strong offseason by helping her UPSL side capture a national championship during the summer.

"She's got a presence out there," Markey said. "She knows how to score goals and she knows how to set players up. She's going to be a handful this year."

Lynn's attack will also feature a young group of newcomers, with Markey particularly encouraged by the team's freshman class.

"There's four or five true freshmen where something's going to happen this year and someone's going to say, 'Yeah, and she's a freshman,'" Markey said. "We're really excited about our freshman class as a whole."

With such a large group of newcomers, one of Lynn's biggest challenges will be preparing them for the physical and mental grind of SSC play. Markey and his staff have made understanding the level of the conference a major point of emphasis throughout preseason.

"There are no easy games," Markey said. "You have to be able to perform when you're at 70 or 80 percent because you're going to spend a lot of your time in that area because of how tough it is."

For Markey, that preparation begins with establishing standards in the smallest details.

"If you don't rise to your challenges, you fall to your standards," he said. "If our standards are that these little things matter, when we get into those big, tough games late in the season, hopefully our standards will take over."

With increased depth, competition throughout the lineup and a roster eager to move the program forward, the Fighting Knights enter 2026 intent on proving their preseason ranking is only a starting point.

Lynn officially opens the 2026 campaign on Thursday, Aug. 27, traveling to Texas A&M International for an 8:00pm EST kickoff.