KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Winning one title is a daunting task for any team.
 
Winning the second straight is tough…then winning a third straight can be even tougher with a lineup which turns over because of graduation.
 
But a fourth straight? That's what Western Michigan University's women's soccer team is going for this season.
 
''Every year there is a reason why we won't win it again and it's our job to make it to the end of the season in first like we did last year,'' WMU head coach Lewis Robinson said. ''We want to be better than last year, which is our mindset and we talked a lot about it.
 
''There is pressure when you come here and I think the new freshmen and transfers feel the pressure to keep the program moving forward, but that is a privilege and it's exciting and what most people would give anything to be a part of.''
 
Junior Meredith Vance, who has been part of the second and third Mid-American Conference regular season title teams, put it very simply when talking about the Broncos' chances for a four-peat.
 
''Of course we can win it…100 percent,'' she said.
 
The drive for four starts on Tuesday and Thursday with games in Hawaii.
 
That's right, Hawaii. The Broncos (16-4-1 overall and 10-1-1 in MAC in 2025) are scheduled to play Idaho on Tuesday and host Hawaii on Thursday.
 
''This trip has been a put together in a year and a half,'' Robinson said. ''There was fundraising and the girls have worked very hard to make this work.''
 
Even with the addition of two veterans (graduate students Drew Martin and Heidi Thomasma) this is a young team. Martin, who was a first-team All-MAC player last season, was second on last year's team with 23 points (5 goals, team high 13 assists) and Thomasma, a defender who was the MAC tournament MVP, added three goals and six points.
 
Returning to anchor the defense is sophomore goalkeeper Reagan Sulaver, who started all 21 games, was named MAC Freshman of the Year and had 10 shutouts.
 
Those who also played in all 21 games and who are returning are Vance, juniors Mikayla Coore-Pascal and June Mullen. The captains are Vance, grad student Taryn DeShane and junior Sammi Glover.
 
For Vance, this is a chance for a normally quiet person to be more vocal.
 
''I'm usually quiet, but now I try to be the loudest,'' she said with a smile. ''I have to be the player for everyone, to be the loudest on the field.''
 
While there are a large number of new players, having Martin and Thomasma back helps reinforce to the newbies what Bronco soccer is all about.
 
''With the veterans, it helps relay the message that this is what we are here for, this is our program, we are a championship team and that's what we want to get every single year,'' Vance said.
 
Having three exhibition games has helped Robinson get a look at different players in different positions and to work on different parts of the game.
 
''We've been able to give some new players some valuable minutes, try some different ways to do things, build confidence in some areas and I think we have done that,'' he said. ''We set the foundation on how we defend, then in the last game, the focus was on scoring goals which is the hardest area of the game and it was good to finish the exhibition season scoring seven goals.''
 
Some things don't change for WMU, though.
 
''The players changed in the past four years, but some really key values of Bronco soccer, the way we play, the style we play, the way we train and the way we do things, those are all things which aren't leaving,'' Robinson said.