Unlike many other college students, my typical day starts at 6 am. I get up, eat two drinkable apple sauces, and a granola bar. Then I make my way to the training room to get my ankle taped. After, I walk over to the training room, grab my cleats and shinguards, and head out to the training field for practice.

What am I? I am a soccer player. More specifically, I am a member of the UIC Women's soccer team, a team that many people are not even aware is in existence. Despite only having been in existence for a few years, the team has made significant strides in developing the program and making it a competitive environment that players will want to join to continue their soccer careers after high school. With that, here are a few facts to give you an idea of what we are all about.

1. The team is currently in it’s third year of competition

2014 marked the first year of competition, but the planning to add the Women’s team to UIC has been in the works for years.

2. The 28 person roster is the largest ever

7 incoming freshman and 2 transfer students were added to the 19 veterans on the team. In total, there are currently 3 seniors, 12 juniors, 5 sophomores, and 8 freshman. Each player is important no matter how old she is, and we utilize the strength and depth of the entire team to get those W's.

3. There are 2 alumni to date

With the completion of the previous year of competition, we had the first two members of the team become alumni. We have an alumni event planned for later this semester and we're hoping for 100% participation at the event.

4. This season’s schedule features competition for the first time against 9 different teams

On top of Horizon League competition starting later next month, regular season games feature competition again Northern Illinois University, Belmont, Drake, New Mexico State, Baylor, Chicago State, and a flight to Arizona for tournament games against Northern Arizona and Grand Canyon.

5. We finished the previous season with a 5-12-2 record

As a new program, a main focus of ours is improving not only each year, but each and every game. We're not the baby team of freshman anymore that we were two years ago, and we're certainly looking to not only make our mark on the Horizon League this year, but the college soccer world as a whole.

Big things are coming...keep your eyes peeled for updates, as this season is going to be one for the books.