The Setters scored a playoff berth after their win on Sat. Nov. 1 with a 5-0 win against Saint Michaels, only to fall 2-0 to Saint Rose in the NE-10 Conference Championship quarter-finals.

Pace finishes the regular season 10-8, while the playoff berth marked the first time the Setters reached the playoffs since 2011.

Despite a bitter-sweet ending, it was a whirl-wind season for the Setters, one that saw them stumble in the beginning only to regain their footing and finish strong in the second half.

The Setters started off with a 3-6 record in their first nine games. However, the more they played, the more they grew as a team, and head coach Michael Winn could see the dedication and drive his team possessed to get better.

And that drive paid off as the Setters went on to finish off with a 7-2 record in the second half of the season. Players like Jillian Ferro and Alyssa Zeoli have come to their own, learning from their mistakes from the first half.

“We’ve played much better soccer and that has translated into a huge improvement in the 2^nd half,” said Winn.  “Over the course of the season they have really matured and that has translated into confidence and success. We’ve had a lot of freshmen who have really stepped up. Zeoli has become one of the top starters in our conference and has been a huge asset on the offensive side.”

But what was the driving force that turned things around? Winn believes it was the team’s desire to win. He mentions that winning is contagious and that it has really been another driver towards success.

Last season the Setter’s finished 5-12; with the new season the team saw an opportunity to try and double those wins and hopefully make the playoffs, which they did.

Senior Geena Kooner notes that the team has had “outstanding” chemistry. They have armed themselves with the knowledge of knowing that in order to win they need to “all be willing to give [their] whole bodies up.”

“Our practices have been very focused on key aspects which we need in order to have success during games,” said Kooner. “Today [Sat. Nov. 1] we [needed] 20 girls putting everything they can out on that field and that’s exactly what we did.”

While the team has made some huge strides in the last year, moving up from the bottom third of the pack to the middle third, Winn believes there is still steps that need to be taken.

“Our goal is to try and be one of the best teams in the NE-10, which is the best soccer conference in Division II, well really the best athletics conference overall,” said Winn. “We’ve closed the gap a little bit this year and it’s been a giant step forward, but we still have our ways to go.”

Winn believes that the foundation is here, but with three seniors the team will have to look to recruits to add more pieces.  Still, a huge step was taken this season, no matter the final outcome.