The expectations are high for the Salisbury girls’ soccer team for this fall season. And rightfully so.

While the Lady Falcons did graduate plenty of talent from their 2015 defensive unit, Salisbury believes it has the firepower to reach even bigger heights after qualifying for the district tournament last year. The Lady Falcons will get a decent gauge on those aspirations in the upcoming weeks with their regular season beginning on Sept. 2 against Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg.

“We hope to make districts and leagues and would like to make some noise in both,” head coach Rick Babyak said. “The girls have set high goals for themselves. They have proved a few things over the summer-they can come back from a deficit, and they can compete with and beat good teams.”

Graduating from that defensive unit last year includes Colonial League First Team goalie Jordan Kamp, now playing at Division I St. John’s. Defenders Sarah Galantini and Sophie Niesenbaum are also gone and leave voids in the back line, while forward Sarah Reilly and midfielder Emily Batman also graduated.

But senior Marisol Rosario, a Colonial League Honorable Mention selection last fall, is back to lead that defense after a solid season. Plenty of others figure to step into those roles and have an immediate impact as well, including seniors Paige Nicholas and Kelly Kucsan.

“We lost a lot defensively, but the girls have done well to step up and fill in,” Babyak said. “[Juniors] Leney Lagunilla and Margaux Petruska have really upped their games this summer. Defensive midfielder Maja Sejdic also has come into camp strong.”

Replacing Kamp will be no easy task, as she was one of the region’s top goalkeepers over her career. But Babyak has a number of options he can plug into goal without feeling too much of an negative impact.

“We graduated the number one goalkeeper in the region, but I believe we haven’t lost a step here with [senior] Kyra Bruns, [junior] Katie Gilligan and newcomer Olivia Hoeing,” Babyak said. “I have total confidence in our goalkeepers. We have always been blessed with good goalkeepers at Salisbury, and this deep group continues that tradition.”

Fortunately for the offensive side of the ball, there will be plenty of familiar faces roaming up top and in the midfield. Senior Caylin Meikrantz and sophomore Rylee Donaldson anchor the midfield as two of the Lady Falcons’ top scorers from last year and one of the most dynamic duos in the area. Senior Caitlin Hoenig and Ali Hankee will also see time at the midfield.

Occupying the forward position is returning speedster senior Holly Bruns, fellow senior Joana Hatzis, junior Kelly Gardus and sophomore Erica Holben. The Lady Falcons depth up top and across the midfield makes them one of the more lethal teams in the Colonial League offensively.

“We actually are fairly balanced in our attack,” Babyak said. “We expect goals to come not only from Meikrantz and Donaldson, but from Gardus, Bruns, Holben and Hoeing. And there are actually quite a few others I expect goals from this season.”

Northwestern, Palisades and Southern Lehigh are a few of the teams that figure to fight for a Colonial League championship this season. Salisbury also has those goals as well, and their quest at that league title begins on Friday, September 9, at Pen Argyl High School.

“This team is special,” Babyak said. “They have talent, have great attitudes, and work hard and together. They have all the ingredients necessary to be a successful team.”