The womenís soccer team maintained their emphatic start to the season tacking another win and a tie on to their record creating a record-breaking 11 game unbeaten streak. Sitting comfortably on top of the NCAC standings in the middle of the season, the Scots now face the daunting task of eight conference games in a row with half of those games away from home.† Wooster has had a great start, but the real test lies in maintaining consistency.
The question is will they be able to keep this momentum going and against the tougher conference competition with the same top form they have exhibited thus far?
Head coach David Brown is very happy with his squadís performance so far, saying, ìWe have a good, young, deep squad with lots of players working hard on the field, and good competition amongst each other. We are able to maintain a high intensity and high quality throughout the games.” They have certainly shown their high quality with a goal differential of plus 19 after 11 games and a historic record of 8-0-3. Though these stats are indeed impressive, it is not altogether clear what they mean as far as the rest of the season is concerned.
Only time will tell; the wins so far do not count in the conference standings but have created the kind of momentum that is needed to have a successful season in this conference.† Brown said, ìWe have won the games we were supposed to win, but the conference will be a lot harder. Things are more intense, they are better teams and it will be tougher.”† He is confident in his teamís abilities though, saying, ìWe have a lot of momentum and we feel good about ourselves. We are a team thatís hard to score against. Iím pleased with us at both ends of the field. I expect us to be competitive in every game.”
Captain and playmaker Chantal Koechli í10, who is a driving force for the squad week in and week out, also had very good things to say about the team so far. When asked why Wooster consistently routed the opposition she said, ìWe are a really hard-working team.† We donít give up during games, and we donít panic when we are down a goal. That kind of composure is hard to achieve, but we naturally have it.”† Koechli is leaving no room for complacency when it comes to the conference however, saying, ìWe need to step up our play. We need to pick up certain aspects up for our play and our communication.”
Both Brown and Koechli mentioned team chemistry and communication as a weak point, though this is only to be expected in a team consisted of 29 players, 23 of which are underclassmen.† Despite this Koechli was optimistic about the rest of the season ìOur composure level will serve us really well. We have a really strong defense. The strong defense puts everything together, builds up the play to the midfield and the forwards. I think weíll do well.”
The ladies have certainly done well so far.† Over this past weekend they dazzled a drenched though undaunted homecoming crowd with an impressive 3-0 win against Misericordia College in the rain.† Liz Mott í11 shot out of the gate ruthlessly scoring two goals before 10 minutes had ticked away on the clock.† The Cougars had barely laced their boots before Mott broke through and placed a shot into the back of the net off an assist from Lida Bilokur í12 to open the scoring just two minutes into the game. She widened the gap just six minutes later neatly tucking away a header from a corner kick.† Despite nasty pitch conditions and pouring rain the Scots held the lead throughout the first half.
The second half saw Maggie Kehm í12 get involved, increasing the lead to three on a lobbed shot in the 54th minute.† The Scotsí sturdy defense closed down Misericordia for the rest of the game, securing the victory.
The Scots seemed a lot more cautious in the game against Case Western Reserve University on Tuesday night.† The team lacked the offensive firepower that they displayed† over the weekend.† In 110 minutes of play neither squad was able to find the back of the net to secure a win.† The deadlock was a uncharacteristic performance by the Scots who allowed Case Western to beat them in shots and corner kicks.† The team had moments of brilliance but was unable to maintain their top form that the fans now take for granted.
Though obviously unsatisfied with result against Case Western, the Scots can still hold its head high after starting the season on a record-breaking unbeaten binge of 11 games with a record of 8-0-3.
The team will face their first conference test of the season this Saturday against Wittenberg University Tigers.