NATCHITOCHES -- Senior midfielder April Trowbridge hates ice baths.
 
Trowbridge says it's her "least favorite" part of soccer, but the ice baths weren't too bad this past weekend when players forced all four members of the new coaching staff to jump in.
 
In a second week of fall camp that started with that cold plunge, the Lady Demons will end the week by plunging into competition as NSU plays its first and only exhibition Saturday at Little Rock.
 
The contest begins at 4 p.m.
 
"Personally I hate ice baths, I hate when people are moving around -- I get really upset," Trowbridge said with a smile Wednesday at NSU's Fall Sports Media Day. "But it's been exciting to take our 13 returners and mix them with 13 newcomers these last couple of weeks.
 
"I have chemistry with a player like (forward) Brittany Caserma, whom I've played with for two years. And then we have newcomers like (forward) Jalen Donaldson, a Canadian like myself, who will be a key piece in our attack. We're really excited to see what we can do Saturday."
 
Mixing of new and old players has created a competitive environment in camp, something that new co-head coach Jess Jobe has been intent on establishing.
 
Jess and Anna Jobe were hired as NSU's co-head soccer coaches in December, having a spring to work with returners before flowing in a large group of newcomers.
 
"Anna has talked about defining competition in different ways with this team and also other key terms like communication and our expectations," Jess Jobe said. "This senior class has done a tremendous job of acclimating the new players to the foundation we've laid in the spring.
 
"We're excited to see how all of that translates to this Saturday. Competition is still open in a lot of positions, and this is opportunity for players to continue to prove themselves against an opponent other than ourselves."
 
While 13 new players are adjusting to college soccer as a whole, other veterans are adjusting to new and larger roles.
 
Senior defender Olivia Marazzo has bounced all over the field in the positions she's played, but the Nevada native will settle in as a first-time starter on the defensive back line.
 
"The word I can choose to describe all of this is focus," Marazzo said. "I've played everything from outside forward to outside back, so being able to focus on my role as a central back and figure out how to play with the girls around is really exciting.
 
"We are having more and more exciting moments every time we play together, and we're learning how to cover for each other."
 
Anna Jobe said she's been impressed with the focus and attention to detail that players are displaying.
 
"We've spent a ton of time talking about details like building trust between players and coaches and between players, healthy conflict resolution and commitment," Anna Jobe said. "It's not about just the two or three hours of training you do every day, it's about what you do with your other 22 hours in terms of hydration, nutrition, sleep and interacting with each other.
 
"Those are the things that enable you to have championship seasons, and the girls are buying into that. They've come in fit and ready to work."
 
After Saturday's exhibition, the Lady Demons have just six days to prepare for their season opener at home against Texas-San Antonio -- the official start of the Jobe Era.