It may take a Piranha to fix the Piranhas.

So instead of looking outside the organization for leadership, team president Marcie Laumann has tapped on-field captain Wendy Kotwas-Waddell to reverse the fortunes of the once-dominant W-League squad.

"It'll definitely be a little different," said Kotwas-Waddell, whose first game as head coach is tonight when the Hampton Roads Piranhas open the season in Atlanta. "But I think we've got a good group of players here, and that's the key."

The Piranhas were national champions in 2003, and they lost just once in 14 regular-season matches in 2004. But they haven't had a winning season since, and bottomed out last year with a 2-8-1 mark.

According to Laumann, the Piranhas had become too reliant lately on college and high school-aged players - athletes with potential but without the experience to keep up with more seasoned foes.

So acquiring more veterans became the mandate in assembling the 2008 team. Kotwas-Waddell said she e-mailed more than 100 players to solicit interest. The result will be the most experienced team the Piranhas will field since their glory days.

The veteran parade starts with the coach herself. The 29-year-old Kotwas-Waddell, a former player at Virginia Tech, has been the Piranhas' defensive leader since 2004.

Nigerian star Mercy Akide-Udoh, a 33-year-old defender and one of the faces of the Piranhas' title team, is back after taking a year off from soccer to give birth to a daughter. Midfielder-defender Florence Omagbemi-Onuja, another 33-year-old long-time Piranha from Nigeria, has also returned.

Kim Francis, 25, a former member of the WUSA's Washington Freedom, will roam the Piranhas' midfield, and speedy midfielder-forward Joy Nsuguga, 29, who played with Kotwas-Waddell at Tech, is expected to key the Piranhas' new attacking style.

"Last year, we played defense about 90 percent of the time," Kotwas-Waddell said.

The team isn't completely devoid of youth. Kelly Lawrence, a 20-year-old from England and Indiana University, figures to be a key defender. And college players Katy Winsper (William and Mary), Chichi Nweke (Illinois), Lauren Hollandsworth (Indiana) and Emily Kittleson (William and Mary) were local high school stars and are among the Piranhas ages 21 and under.

"Last year was a struggle, and I don't like making predictions when we haven't played a game yet," Kotwas-Waddell said. "But I really think we're on the right track."