New talent including nine freshmen make up the 28-player roster this season for the 2014 Sacramento State women’s soccer.

Freshman forward Kylee Smith said converting from high school to the collegiate level requires more commitment both physically and mentally.

“It has been a huge transition, doesn’t even compare. High school was kind of a more fun, social sport,” Smith said. “College is very serious, but very competitive at the same time, so it was a big challenge, but I’m ready for it.”

As a senior at Heritage High School in Brentwood, Calif., Smith made the First-Team All-Bay Valley Athletic League (BVAL), in which she helped contribute to a BVAL championship in 2013.

“I like how everyone is super competitive [at Sac State], and we all worked together, and all support each other, and all really want to compete and win,” Smith said.

Besides the speed of the game being the obvious difference, collegiate soccer is also all business.

“Training is a lot more competitive, more serious, it’s basically work,” Smith said. “You come here and get the job done, we don’t mess around, but it’s also really fun. I don’t consider it a job but it is, you need to take it as a job.”

Smith added that Sac State soccer drills compared high school are a lot more technical.

Meanwhile, the transition phase has been a little rocky for freshman forward midfielder Amanda Mielke. She said she feels that this development is something that she can not only adjust to, but also overcome.

“Personally, it’s been hard, but I mean it’s not something that I can’t do,” Mielke said. “It was definitely a hard transition because it’s more serious, and your mentality is different.”

Mielke said that the biggest difference is that the competition is intense compared to high school, where it is more of a fun environment with teammates.

Mielke, received Suburban League All-Conference honors as a senior at Mayfair High School in Bellflower, Calif., where she broke a school record by scoring six goals in a single game for the Monsoons.

“Everyone wants to get the job done, everyone wants to win, in high school, it’s just fun,” Mielke said. “Training at Sac State is a lot more harder; more running, more physical, girls are bigger, everyone is working harder.”

For sophomore forward Adaurie Dayak, she believes it’s her duty to encourage the freshmen to adjust to the game ensuring an easier transition for them.

“There’s a lot of responsibilities being a freshman, and also being a sophomore because you’ve got to help out the freshmen and making sure that they’re doing everything right,” Dayak said.

Coach Randy Dedini feels as though the freshmen have made positive strides this season for the Hornets. They bring a lot of intelligence, and the players are very athletic, he said.

“They’ve contributed in a lot of ways, it’s really been a positive group that’s come in here, it’s a very athletic group, and so I’d say the first thing that they’ve added immediately was athleticism to our team,” Dedini said. “Their attitude has been very good, they’re following their leaders, they’re listening to their captains, and they’re working hard to try to earn the time that they’ve got on the field.”

Dedini states that the freshmen are still learning what it takes to play conference games and how the game is more tough on the players.

“It’s a lot more physical,” Dedini said. “The athleticism of their opponents, all these girls are really athletic; here everybody is fast, and if they’re not fast, they have another very special quality. They’re either very strong, great leg strength, or they have exceptional skill.”