Since practice kicked off in late February, the Lindbergh High School girls’ soccer team has had to battle Mother Nature like nearly every other school in the area.

But with seven seniors returning to this year’s roster, the Flyers are focused on improving on last season’s 8-7-2 record with a 5-3 mark in Suburban West Conference play and a 3-2 loss to Oakville in the Class 2, District 3 semifinal game.

“Like everybody, there are a lot more question marks than answers because we have not been able to get enough outside time,” Lindbergh head coach Mark Giesing said. “We’re going to have a senior-dominated team, and that’s the first time we’ve had that in a long time.”

The coach believes that this year’s team has come in with a fresh attitude and physically is in top shape.

“I think overall that our team fitness was an issue last year,” Giesing said. “But this year we’ve come in as a more fit team.”

Senior midfielder Aimee Ubriaco returns for the 2008 campaign after leading the Flyers with 13 goals and 13 assists last season. She has 47 goals and 29 assists over the past three seasons.

“Aimee’s just a fierce competitor,” Giesing said. “Whatever sport she plays, she goes out there and gives it her all.”

Another scoring threat is junior midfielder Brittany Casey. She racked up seven goals and two assists last season.

Joining Ubriaco in the midfield will be seniors Jenny Butz and Casey Caldwell. Butz and Caldwell each scored one goal and one assist last season.

“Jenny has great vision of the field and is just a hard nosed player,” Giesing said. “Casey has a great shot and she’s a person we’ll be looking to for a lot of offensive production this year.”

Two more seniors in the midfield who will be impact players are Sarah Ghidina and Tristan Stolz.

“Both Sarah and Tristan bring an excellent ability to play the ball wide and they’re also good at getting back on defense,” Giesing said. “Having them on the wing gives us great ball control.”

Seniors Natalie Fletcher and Laura Gier will command the backfield this season.

“Natalie and Laura are very similar players,” he said. “They’re very good at shutting down an offense and picking up their marking assignments.”

Another defender who will solidify the backfield this season is sophomore Lindsey Oettle.

“Lindsey is a versatile player with incredible endurance,” Giesing said. “She brings a lot to the table for us.”

Junior Emily Bozdeck returns as the team’s goalkeeper this season after putting together an 8-6-2 record with a 1.31 goals-against average. Of Bozdeck’s eight wins, seven were recorded as shutouts.

“Emily’s one of the top goalies in the area,” Giesing said. “We have total confidence with her when she’s back there in the net.”

The Flyers open the season at 4 p.m. Monday against Fort Zumwalt South in the Hazelwood Central Bi-State Shootout at the SportPort in Maryland Heights.

Lindbergh also will face Althoff at 4 p.m. Tuesday and Triad at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

“A lot of strong teams will be in this tournament,” Giesing said. “I know that we’ll have a very strong week to start out the season.”