"Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give up," Winston Churchill

With expectations through the roof for the 2013 squad, Wilmington head coach Bud Lewis has tempered his preseason enthusiasm.

"In many respects last year was a surprise," said Lewis. "We had a lot of players returning with experience and we came off a good 12-win season, so we had high hopes. I have a little caution coming into this season. We have the largest group of seniors that we have had in a long time, but we graduated five really dynamic players, all very good players.

"I see this as a team with players that have gone through the program, but I am going to be cautious about the team," Lewis continued. "So many things have to go well for us to compete for the conference championship, which is ultimately the goal of this team. We knew we could play with the best in the conference last year as we finished out the season (vs. Ohio Northern and John Carroll), yet the lack of scoring at critical times and giving up goals at critical times was a problem."

Stopping goals will be a key focal point following the graduation of Anton Niklasson as the Fightin' Quakers have literally no collegiate experience between the pipes.

Sophomore Nick Baker (Indianapolis, IN/Decatur Central) and freshman R.J. Mancini (Cincinnati, OH/Glen Este) will be competing for the starting position.

"(Finding a starting keeper) is going to be a big challenge for us. We have to make the saves we need to make. The great saves are great, but you have to make the saves in which you don't give your opponents an easy chance. Part of that is more than the goalkeepers' responsibility, it starts with the forwards doing what they are required to do."

The Fightin' Quakers have experience elsewhere in the line-up to develop into a solid group led by the reigning OAC Defender of the Year, senior Martin Holmquist (Karlstad, Sweden/Alvkulle Gymnasiet). The two-time, first-team All-OAC player returns for his final season. Senior Brandon Klepach (Centerville, OH/Centerville) started every game in the back last season after transferring to Wilmington a season ago.

Junior Jesse Buhrman (Westlake, OH/Westlake) and sophomore Aaron Basford (Monroe, OH/Monroe) have the edge on rounding out the starting lineup, however, there is a plethora of options behind them. A wildcard in the back could be former football running back Alex Koyfis (Kristianstad, Sweden/Soderportgymnasiet). Lewis was impressed with his skills during the spring.

Senior Drew Fields (Terrace Park, OH/Mariemont) will have a spot on the field, although his exact position will play out during preseason practice.

"First and foremost this team has to learn to be a good defensive team," said Lewis. "That is something that we have to improve on quickly from where we were. The backline and defensive integrity has to be improved upon."

One of the problems for Wilmington last season was the inability to be effective on set pieces, according to Lewis. He added that defending set pieces are about "mentality."

Wilmington will have some options offensively as three of the top four scorers all return.

Seniors Evan Schlagetter (Sidney, OH/Sidney) and Daniel Wicks (Reading, OH/Reading), along with junior Nick Toney (Morrow, OH/Little Miami) all tied for the team lead with five goals. In addition, sophomore Cody Sabins (Marysville, OH/Marysville) tallied five goals two seasons ago before missing all of last season.

However, finding the back of the net shouldn't always come from individual exploits.

"We have to make our goal opportunities easier," said Lewis. "Goals shouldn't rely on a individual efforts of greatness. They should come from three or four players making effective plays and making the goal an obvious goal. We need to work collectively together for a sustained offense where it's not one shot and done. We look to put teams under pressure for an extended period of time, and that is how you create goals."

With Wicks and Schlagetter providing possession and goal scoring from the midfield, players like Taylor Estes (Reading, OH/Reading), Ben McMahon (Loveland, OH/Little Miami) and Alex Ruckman (Monroe, OH/Monroe) will also need to contribute in the midfield.

Wilmington kicks off the 2014 season 7 p.m. August 30, hosting Franklin at Williams Stadium.