photo by: Angilo Allen/Kansas Athletics

Kansas head coach Nate Lie during the spring match against Washburn on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

Nate Lie came into his first spring as Kansas head soccer coach needing to get acquainted with a new school and a new set of players for the first time since he took over at Xavier in 2017.

The players weren’t new to each other, though, nor new to college soccer.

Even after the retirement of longtime head coach Mark Francis, KU was able to retain the vast majority of its 2023 roster, and among that group virtually every player had seen at least some collegiate action. The question now remains how these returning players will adapt to a new set of tactics, training habits and expectations under just the school’s fourth soccer coach — the basics they have been introduced to in the five months since Lie was hired.

“That’s a lot for us, and it’s a lot for them,” Lie told the Journal-World in an interview on Monday. “So there were moments where it was tiring and moments where it was overwhelming, and then there were moments where it was really rewarding, and you could just see the growth in individuals or the team.”

When Lie arrived at Xavier, he entered over the summer and was immediately faced with the prospect of competing in games that counted. This time around, he had the benefit of a spring semester and a series of exhibitions to get to know his personnel, and for them to get acclimated to him in return. Overall, he declared it a success.

“It’s hard to know how to measure that,” he said. “But I think we grew as a team and in culture and work rate and accountability. And then in the end, I do think we grew on the field as well.”

A couple of veterans transferred, but nearly everyone who contributed to KU during the 2023 season (a down year at 4-8-6) was with Lie and his staff in the spring. That included players such as veteran midfielder Raena Childers, forward Lexi Watts, and young contributors on the back line like Caroline Castans and Olivia Page. Former North Carolina transfer Hallie Klanke, last year’s points leader with five goals and four assists, was one player Lie said adapted particularly quickly.

“She’s one of those players that does a lot of extra work on her own,” he said. “And I think is motivated to try to be the best player she can be and play pro. I also think she came from an environment before here that had a lot of the same expectations that we’re bringing.”

On the whole, Lie credited the appeal of KU as an institution for the high level of continuity after a coaching change — it “did a lot of the recruiting for me” — and said the players felt they had a responsibility to the school and to each other. He said he didn’t explicitly try to convince anyone to stay.

“I think it was just, this is what we’re about,” Lie said. “This is what the program will be about going forward, if you want to be part of it, great. If not, there might be another fit. And then with each player, just kind of giving them individual feedback and (seeing) what made sense for them.”

Granted, the roster won’t look the same as it did in the spring when it actually comes time for KU to play its season-opening exhibition Aug. 5. Women’s soccer is in the midst of a spring transfer window that opened May 1 and closes on Wednesday. Lie is actively working to acquire new players and in the meantime will lose some of his own. Magali Gagné, a midfielder who started 14 games in 2023, and Shira Elinav, a forward from Israel who had eight goals and four assists for KU in 2022, have already announced their departures, as part of a small group planning to leave.

In addition, the Jayhawks have a wide range of freshmen coming in for the fall season, some recruited by Lie and some by Francis before his arrival.

“We’ve connected with them individually, we’ve tried to see them play when we can,” Lie said. “We hosted a camp here in April that some of them were able to attend. Our one exhibition at Rock Chalk Park, five of the nine were there … There are a couple players that we have not met face to face. And I’m not sure we’re going to until they show up for the first day of preseason.”

There is one new addition with whom Lie and the Jayhawks have already become well acquainted, and by all accounts she’s been an excellent fit. Brooke Otto, a defender who started 18 games at Ohio State in two seasons, had picked the Buckeyes over Lie and Xavier coming out of high school, but now joins him at KU.

“I think it’s pretty impressive and pretty amazing how much of an impact she’s made off the field as the only new player to the program,” Lie said. “I think a lot of players on the team already look at her as one of the leaders. She’s had multiple people in the athletic department reach out to us, appreciative in how she handles her business and the amount of gratitude that she shows.”

Another spring standout was the rare Jayhawk not to see the field during the 2023 season. Sophie Dawe, a goalkeeper from Memphis, Tennessee, has staked her claim to step into the spot vacated by the now-graduated Melania Pasar (who recently signed to play professionally in Hungary). Lie praised her upside, despite her relative inexperience, and called her “one of the most athletic goalkeepers I’ve seen.”

“In the weight room and out on the field doing fitness work, wherever, she is in the top half, top third of the team, and that’s going to get my attention,” he said. “You know, she’s willing and ready to work. And I think she has aspirations to try to chase that No. 1 spot, and I don’t think she got any playing time this past year. So I think she has a shot.”

Whether she ultimately anchors the KU defense entering the season remains to be seen, and indeed at this point Lie has about three months to figure out how to arrange the Jayhawks’ personnel in his new system.

As soon as he does, KU will face a challenging slate immediately, constructed by Lie with an eye toward showing his team NCAA Tournament-level competition.

Then there’s the Big 12 Conference, which was already unfamiliar to Lie but now incorporates several new play styles with four schools coming in from the Pac-12.

“For me, I haven’t played many, if any of those teams,” he said. “It’s a different style of play. It’s a different kind of soccer sometimes. I personally love the challenge and love sort of the professional growth that comes from trying to solve those problems and how every game is different.”

The conference schedule will also feature a kind of homecoming for Lie as KU goes to face Cincinnati on Sept. 19; not only is Lie currently in the process of moving his family from Cincinnati, but he served as an assistant at UC from 2013-17.

“I very much tend to, while we’re playing the game, and as we prepare for a game, every game is exactly the same,” he said. “But it’ll definitely be different kind of bringing up some memories and then seeing some old friends.”

Before then, the Jayhawks will open their schedule at South Dakota State on Aug. 15 and begin Big 12 play at home against Iowa State on Sept. 12.

photo by: Angilo Allen/Kansas Athletics

Kansas midfielder Caroline Castans during the spring match against Washburn on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Angilo Allen/Kansas Athletics

Kansas defender Mackenzie Boeve during the spring match against Washburn on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Angilo Allen/Kansas Athletics

Kansas head coach Nate Lie during the spring match against Washburn on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Angilo Allen/Kansas Athletics

Kansas’ Hallie Klanke during the spring match against Washburn on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Angilo Allen/Kansas Athletics

Kansas defender Brooke Otto during the spring match against Washburn on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Angilo Allen/Kansas Athletics

Kansas midfielder Raena Childers during the spring match against Washburn on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Lawrence.