Two seasons ago the wins kept piling up for the Northwestern women’s soccer team as it advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

Last season, however, the wins didn’t come easy. In fact, they rarely came at all.

Hampered by a young roster and inconsistent goal scoring, NU finished last in the Big Ten with a 4-12-1 overall record and a 1-8-1 mark in the conference.

“It wasn’t like we weren’t trying,” said senior forward Brooke Bell, who led the team with five goals. “We just couldn’t turn it around. We never figured it out.”

But coming off what Bell called the best offseason in her three years at NU, the Cats bring an experienced corps of players into next season and hope to reverse their fortunes.

Sophomore midfielder Kelli Wilson said NU will do everything in its power to avoid a repeat of last fall.

“Anything is better than nothing because we can’t do much worse than last season,” Wilson said.

Coupled with their discouraging 1999 record, the Cats will lose the leadership and production of senior co-captains Erica Westrich and Kristen Palmer. Westrich won Big Ten Player of the Year honors in 1998 and Palmer tallied three goals and nine assists to lead the team in scoring last season.

While it is hard to replace the two graduating seniors, Bell said the Cats have “a solid base of experience” for the upcoming year.

NU returns eight starters and a full complement of reserves from last season’s squad. Under the guidance of seventh-year coach Marcia McDermott, Bell said the Cats have “leadership throughout the ranks.”

A trio of seniors anchor the team: Bell, defender Shay Unterreiner and goalie Erin Ekeberg. Defender Katie Kovatch called Ekeberg a verbal leader in goal and said Bell leads by example.

Kovatch returns on defense, and is joined by seasoned midfielders Kas