LionAthletics.com had a quick Q&A session with head soccer coach Neli Piper as the Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions prepared for the season-opening weekend road trip. The Lions visit Florida Tech Friday night before clashing with No. 15 Tampa on Sunday morning.

First off, how do you feel the preseason went for the team?
I think it went as well as it could go. We had a lot of interruptions with the weather, but we accomplished a great deal. We played some challenging scrimmages and I think the speed of our opponents will help us for the first weekend.
 
How well prepared are the Lions for a tough opening weekend in Florida?
You never know until you take the field. Again, we played some very athletic teams to help prepare us for Florida Tech and Tampa.
 
The Lions don't have many upperclassmen, but the ones we have are all very accomplished. How have the ­seniors helped bring in and acclimate the younger players?
The seniors have set the tone for everyone… from work ethic to letting the new players know what it takes to win at this level.
 
Vicky Back was named Lone Star Conference preseason defensive player of the year, but was one of the leading goal scorers in the conference and the region. To what do you attribute her success on both ends of the pitch?
She is just a quality player who has many strengths. Her only flaw is that she can't play two positions at once. We will game plan for every team and will assess how she can help us the most, very similar to what we did last year.
 
What are some strengths of the team as we kick off the season?
We have two All-Americans on the roster and many hungry youngsters. We create many chances to score and it's just a matter of us executing on our opportunities.
 
A&M-Commerce will face tough competition against Florida Tech and a top 15 team in Tampa. What are the expectations you have for the opening weekend?
We want to win both games, but more importantly we want to compete and give a good account of ourselves. These are important games, but we have bigger regional games on the horizon and we are hoping this weekend prepares us for those games