It is back to the books as the fall season rolls around on the Le Moyne campus. The season doesn’t just bring about studying, yoga pants and pumpkin-flavored coffee; it brings about a new beginning, specifically for the dedicated athletes striving to be better than before in the fall sports season.

September 8th marks the beginning of the golf season for both men and women at Le Moyne. The men’s team will be led by junior Dan Molter, who improved last season to finish in the Mike Bello Tournament 13th out of 92 participants. Molter will be joined by senior Jeff Brown and junior Sam Eno to lead the team through their rigorous schedule, which includes 12 tournaments in the first half of the season. Laura Nicolais heads the women’s team in her fourth and final year on the team. Head Coach Steve Serling hopes to get strong performances out of returners Emily Stickel, Daniela Tarolli and Jocelyn Bender in the first half of the season. Stickel ended her season last year with an 8th place finish in the ECAC Division II/III Championship, setting a program record. The women’s team finished 6th overall.

Tom Bonus is entering his 14th season as the men’s head soccer coach at Le Moyne and arguably has the most talented squad yet. With the return of key seniors Matt Silva and Michael Spadine, as well as junior Casey Murphy, the team recently completed an impressive undefeated pre-season. Both Silva and Murphy earned spots on the NSCAA men’s soccer East Region Third Team this past season. Coming off of a 7-9-1 record last season, the Dolphins are fighting to have a winning season this year. With a strong goalie in Silva, who averaged a .740 save percentage, the Dolphins have proved so far that they are a force to be reckoned within the Northeast-10 Conference. The kick-off for the season will be on Thursday, Sept. 5, at Ted Grant Field.

Fresh off a receiving an NE-10 Academic Excellence Award for the 2012-2013 season, the Le Moyne women’s soccer team is ready to succeed both on and off the field. Despite a disappointing 3-9-5 season in 2012, goalkeeper Tori Corsaro was a bright spot who looks to take over with the loss of senior Christie Morano. Corsaro made 101 saves this past season, making her only the second female Dolphin to surpass 100 saves. Other returning players include seniors Carly Bonzerato and Kate Deasy and sophomore Jenelle Powell. The women’s team can’t go anywhere but up and are looking to secure a winning record this upcoming season.

Other teams hoping for a more successful record this fall are both the men’s and women’s tennis teams. The men’s coach, Mark Dolan, finds himself taking his coaching talents to the women’s team as well. The women seek leadership from seniors Kelly Falconer and Christine Flask, while bringing back a large cast of returners, including juniors Kitty Naughton and Margaret LaFleur. The men are led by senior Yaro Nieves and junior Shane Evans, who both showed improvement in an otherwise disappointing team performance last season. Even though both teams finished under .500, they seek redemption beginning Saturday, Sept. 7, at Roberts Wesleyn to kick off a new season.

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams seek to improve upon an already stellar season from the past fall. Significant losses for both teams will cause them to look for senior and junior leadership from returning athletes. For the men, Christian Cobb and Mike Marrero will head the squad of eight runners, while juniors Rachel Crosley, Laura Hough and Taylor Lewis take charge for the women. With seven meets slated for this season, head coach Scott Love looks to start harvesting talent for the upcoming track program, starting in 2014.

Finally, the volleyball team kicks off their season on Friday Sept. 6, with their first home match on Saturday, September 14th. After losing some important senior leadership from last year’s 16-11 team, they are prepared to compensate for that. Under the coaching style of new head coach and Le Moyne alumna Lizzie Cheek, the young squad looks to improve from last year. With only two seniors on the team, outside hitter Madi Snow and middle hitter Rebecca Wolf, the season will be about development in the game. Added with returning juniors Marissa Coppola, Stephanie Belanger and Megan Maisonet, the season looks to be a promising one for these women.

With a plethora of fall sports going on, there are no excuses to not go and cheer on your fellow Le Moyne students. These athletes have been training hard all summer long for this very season. This is their time and this is their moment. Let the fall sports officially commence!