BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Senior midfielder Kinsey Sessions knows what it takes for a team to be successful on the soccer field.
 
Over the course of her three-year tenure as a member of the women's soccer team, the Bulldogs have tallied a remarkable 41-22-4 record, racking up 20 conference victories and securing the 2014 SoCon regular-season title.

 
On the field, there's the need for a potent offense, stout defense and an unshakable goalkeeper. Along the sidelines, there's the need for an experienced and invested coaching staff that has engrained a winning culture.
 
But beyond that, there's a critical need for something more. Without it, a great team can falter before reaching its full potential, but with it, a good team can rise to unprecedented heights. It's frequently the identifying mark of every championship-caliber lineup, and the ceiling for success varies in relation to its strength and presence.
 
Team unity, as Sessions has experienced, separates pretenders from contenders.
 
"I think there are a lot of teams that say that they're like a family, but there's a lot of drama within the team. But with us, it really is no drama," Sessions said. "We all just click very well together, and I think that makes a huge difference on the field."
 
Entering the fourth and final year of her collegiate career, Sessions is one of three veteran leaders responsible for harvesting this crucial characteristic. Along with fellow seniors Hallie Georgi and Alissa Hansen, Sessions has stepped into a key leadership position on a team that has a realistic shot of earning a bid to the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
 
"That's our goal every year, and this year, just like last year, I think it's very possible," Sessions said.
 
In order to reach this goal, it will be imperative for the team to develop strong intrasquad relationships, which collectively comprise the foundation for team unity. It's this need for cohesiveness that makes Sessions a key piece of the team's puzzle.
 
A well-respected and widely admired teammate, she embodies the unique ability to bring people together both on and off the field.
 
Whether it's at practice or in games, Sessions demonstrates a relentless work ethic, meriting the respect of her teammates and continually raising the standard.
 
"I think leading by example is super important," she said, "just setting the standard at practice, how hard to work, and also setting a standard of how you treat the coaches, respecting them and respecting your teammates and everybody on our coaching staff. That's something I've always valued, and I think it speaks really highly."
 
Off the field, Sessions eagerly invests in the lives of her teammates, forming relationships that have a significant impact on team chemistry. 
 
"I think talking to people and not just about soccer, but about life," she said. "Being able to relate to them even on a spiritual level, and just checking in with them on that aspect, too, not just treating it like a job or a sport because it's so much more than that. It's the relationships you can get out of it, and it's the life experience of being on a team and doing life with those girls."
 
Because Sessions has always placed a high value on leading by example and engaging those around her, the transition into a veteran leadership position has gone smoothly.  Along with increased responsibilities, the only major change, she noted, has been the shift to becoming a more vocal leader.
 
"Your senior year, it's a lot more of talking to the team and getting everybody on the same page," she said.
 
Entering 2015 as the defending SoCon regular-season champion and returning a key core of players, the Bulldogs have already been selected as the conference favorite in the league's Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
And, after back-to-back victories against Memphis, 5-1, and Wake Forest, 2-1, last week, the team looks primed to construct another sensational season, especially considering Sessions' view on the team's progress.
 
"This is the best I've seen us look, as far as just team unity and style of play," she said. "It looks like it flows together."
 
As she helps lead the team through its ultracompetitive fall schedule, Sessions will be focused on facilitating and maintaining the sprouting seeds of togetherness. She'll also be soaking up all of the memories and emotions that commonly accompany an athlete during the final stage of their college playing career.
 
"The most important thing to me is just enjoying, just soaking up the last season, the last time I'll ever get to play soccer and just enjoying the time I get with my teammates," Sessions said. "Getting to just spend every day with them and play the sport that we love at the same time, I've loved every second of it."