Tough Opening Weekend

Injuries certainly took their toll this weekend as the Beavers women's soccer team suffered two tough losses at Carthage College's "Battle at the Border" tournament.  Saturday's loss to Carthage was the first time the team has been able to get 11 players on the field in competition, due to injury and weather.  Unfortunately it showed as we really didn't look to be on the same page that morning.  Goalkeepers Amber Barnes and Shannon Farrier each made several great saves while splitting time.

After a few tactical adjustments before Sunday's match though, we came out very strong and dominated Concordia University for much of the first half.  All that was left was for us to put away the great chances we were creating, but unfortunately we didn't come through.  Toward the end of the half the injuries and fatigue began to creep back into our game and we gave up some late first half goals.  We got another solid performance in goal from Amber, but we simply gave them too many quality chances down the stretch.

While this weekend's results were not what we hoped for, there were still a lot of positives to take away.  The team is getting a better understanding of one another on the field, we had long stretches of positive, attacking soccer, and we have seen the level that this team is capable of playing at.  As injuries heal, fitness improves, and chemistry comes together, I expect those stretches of great play to keep getting longer and yield more results. 

Coach B