There were a lot of positive to the Nipissing Lakers women's soccer team's season last year, unfortunately the division they played in wasn't one of them.

The Lakers ended up handing the Ottawa Gee Gees their first loss of the season, they opened the season with a victory and they ended the year in style with a win.

The downfall was that the East Division was very strong and the Lakers fell a spot short of the playoffs.

That's the story of last season in a nutshell, but things begin this weekend brand new, a blank slate for the team to create their own story for the 2017 season.

Kicking off the year on the road, facing Toronto and Ryerson won't be an easy task and battling injuries makes the job that much more difficult, but the Lakers are ready.

The three teams finished seven points apart, with Toronto grabbing the final playoff spot, Nipissing behind them and Ryerson just two points back of Nipissing.

Turnover is a constant thing at this level, but if the Lakers can get off to a strong start this weekend, they can really build moving forward.

Starting with games on the road, if Nipissing can at the worst, tread water until returning home, they can begin their climb up the standings.

Vanessa Rota and Andrea Young, who both scored three times last year, are the highest scoring returning players and are joined by veterans Kristen Farkas and Delaney Borsato as fellow goal scorers.

Sarah Schouten and Tori Welk are the other experienced Lakers, who will be counted on to lead this team.

Grouped with impressive sophomores and a strong recruiting class, the Lakers will have the ability to make some noise in the East Division this season.

The Lakers are away from home for five games to open the season, beginning with Saturday's clash with Toronto.

Sunday, Nipissing will wrap up the weekend facing Ryerson.

Both games are scheduled to start at Noon.