The Utah Valley women’s soccer team not only scores goals on the rebound, they seem bent on rebounding as a team from their 1-4 start. Prior to their last two games, the stats seemed to bear out the vision of a team learning as they go.
After winning two close games over the weekend against Idaho and Montana, the Wolverines are intent on building on their recent success. With games against Fordham and Baylor, both of which will be played in Texas, they will need all the confidence they can get.
“The more we play the more confident we’ll be, and that’s going to be very important for a team this young,” coach Brent Anderson said.
More than just confidence, they Wolverines will need a short memory. With all their struggles early on, these players will need to forget the early-season feeling of losing and build on every victory they achieve.
“I think the more success we have with these younger girls will make a huge difference,” said goalkeeper Lauren Sack. “Most importantly, when you get all that combined, it’s more fun to play the game. Not only is it more fun to win, but we win when we have more fun.”
Chemistry will be a large part of their success, if the players learn to trust each other and their coach, then a lot more will fall into line in the win column.
They next play Friday, Sept. 16 against Fordham in College Station Texas. Fordham is 3-3-1 on the season, having played the likes of Rutgers, Seton Hall, and St. Johns already this season.
Now comes the point in the season when Utah Valley will find out if their brutal early schedule was worth it. If it strengthens the team to where they can draw upon that experience and win a conference championship then everyone involved will look like geniuses.
If, however, they continue to struggle, it may be time to look at the philosophies of those at the top and figure out a way to be competitive at the outset.
