INDIANAPOLIS -- Led by head coach Cecil C. Pilson, the Bulldogs set their eyes on the upcoming season as part of the school's first-ever women's lacrosse program. Butler will step onto the newly constructed Varsity Field for the home opener against Liberty on Sunday, Feb. 12.
 
"Sunday will give us the opportunity to see how all of our hard work has paid off," Pilson said. "I'm really excited for the team. Expectations wise, we want to take it game by game. Our team from the beginning of the fall to now has improved and continues to grow."
 
Pilson takes on the school's first women's lacrosse season after coaching at Mercyhurst University in Pennsylvania for 11 seasons. Over that time, he accumulated a .700 winning percentage and his teams have been ranked in the Top 15 in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) final poll in seven of the past eight seasons.
 
The roster features 16 freshmen, five transfers and eight women who were students at Butler prior to this year. Five of the eight previously played for the school's club team.
 
The midfielders will rely on the experience of transfers like redshirt sophomore Haley Hallenbeck from Bryant University and junior Madison Christian. The pair represents two of three captains on the team. Hallenbeck was previously a two-time US Lacrosse All-America during her high school career while Christian was Junior College's Female Athlete of the Year at CCBC-Essex in Baltimore.
 
Pilson said Hallenbeck and Christian direct the midfield, helping the team push the ball and teaching younger girls where they need to be.
 
Emily Annand is one of two seniors on the team after playing club lacrosse for Butler and was tabbed as captain along with Hallenbeck and Christian. Rounding out the midfielders are several freshmen. Rachel Kegler and Grace Maynard were both selected as 2016 All-Americans in high school.
 
"Grace has done really great job developing at this level," Pilson said.
 
On the defensive end, Butler's lineup consists of three sophomores, one junior and a single senior. Senior Kathleen Cihota, junior Kelly Murphy and sophomore Kelly Burger played lacrosse for the school's club team last year. Sophomores Jordan Fischbach and Maria Marin complete the defense.
 
Tending the net for Butler are goalies Haley Rayburn and Allie Storke. Rayburn made 238 career saves to compile .490 save percentage and was named First-team All-District playing at Sycamore High School.
 
Storke is a junior transfer from Harford Community College, and was a 2016 NJCAA All-American and a two-time NJCAA All-Region XX performer.
 
"We've got two really solid goalkeepers," Pilson said. "Every day we bounce back and forth to see which goalie we're going to start. They're nipping at each other's toes, and that's such a great problem to have. Not every new program is fortunate enough to have that."
 
Ranked No. 10 in a preseason BIG EAST coaches' poll, the group will take on a challenging schedule with eight non-conference matchups in addition to their nine conference opponents. Butler hosts Georgetown in its first BIG EAST game on March 18. Additional conference teams include Marquette, Villanova, Denver, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Temple and Florida.
 
Florida highlights one of the Bulldogs' toughest matches at home on April 15. The Gators are back-to-back BIG EAST champions and walked away with the No. 1 slot in conference preseason polls.
 
Butler will play eight of their 17 regular season games at home. The team makes trips out to the Carolinas, Georgia and Pennsylvania before concluding the regular season at home on April 29 against Villanova.
 
"This season is a chance to showcase our talent and show that we're not just another Division I program that was added, but that we are a special team and want to be as successful as we can be," Pilson said.