The Carroll College soccer team is packing its bags and saying goodbye to Nelson Stadium for the next month.

The Saints will play their next 11 games on the road beginning with a matchup at Northwest Nazarene today at 4 p.m.

It’s up to the young women to settle in and find a comfortable seat on the bus. They’re going to be wearing a groove in it until Oct. 19 when they play host to Westminster College.

For the team and head coach, Dave Thorvilson, the excursion isn’t unusual. With only four soccer programs in the Frontier Conference, the Saints are used to life on the road. They’ll face some of the top teams in the nation with the goal of gaining experience and wins that will earn them into the NAIA national tournament.

This week alone Carroll will play four teams in four days.

After Nazarene the Saints head to Eastern Oregon University in La Grande on Friday, then Rocky Mountain College in Billings on Saturday, before crossing the entire state to play the College of Idaho in Caldwell on Sunday.

Thorvilson doesn’t deny that such road trips can become exhausting.

“I guarantee that by Sunday the girls aren’t going to want to be around me,” Thorvilson said. “And, I’m not going to want to be around them.”

The toughest part about the extended trips is the affect it can have academically on the student-athletes. The players will miss numerous days of class, be riddled with extra homework and even take tests on the road with Thorvilson as their proctor.

Still, last year’s group, which included 11 seniors, had a 3.89 cumulative GPA, the highest of any sports program in the country, NAIA or NCAA.

“There’s a lot of homework,” said senior Bobbi Allard. “The teachers are pretty strict at making you turn things in beforehand. You have tests when you get back or you have to do them before you leave.”

Allard said that as an elementary education major, her biggest difficulty will be making up the missed field experience.

But, the team also becomes a more solid unit.

“You have 20 girls crammed on a bus. You become really close,” she said. “We always play well on the road. We know we have to pick it up, and I think we’re excited.”

Carroll’s leading scorer, freshman Meghan O’Connell, is just getting used to the idea of spending so much time away from Carroll’s friendly confines. The closest she’s come to an extended trip was when her former high school team, Flathead High, played in the state tournament.

She is expecting a stressful trip as she tries to transition into collegiate life.

“Winning those games would definitely make life less stressful,” she said.

The 10th-ranked Saints (2-1) are certainly favored to win a majority of them. It’s going to take a big effort, however, against all four teams this weekend. Nazarene is an NCAA Division II school, as is College of Idaho. Meanwhile, Rocky and the Saints split two matches last season.

“There are only two players on the team that were starting last year,” Thorvilson said. “We’re almost starting from scratch and the big thing is these girls have to become seasoned or experienced really quick.”

Assistant Sports Editor Jeff Windmueller; 447-4065 or jeff.windmueller@helenair.com