The next three games will be crucial for the Lady Lions chances to defend their title as they are in fifth place in the standings for the Southland Conference Tournament. Only the top four teams qualify for the tournament.
Nikisun Shrestha/The Lion's Roar
The Lady Lions soccer team produced a contrasting set of results in the two games they played over the weekend. They displayed a dominant 3-0 performance against Sam Houston at the Pink Day, only to follow up with a disappointing 4-0 loss to Stephen F. Austin.
On Friday, Oct. 14, Lady Lions swept away Sam Houston at home with goals from forward Sofia Olsson, striker Amber Marinero and forward Casey Peacock. It was an impressive performance at both ends of the pitch.
“I thought it was a true team effort,” said interim Head Coach Matt Muia. “We got a shutout in the defensive end and we also got the three goals in the attacking end. So it was a well balanced win for us tonight.”
Muia credits the team’s hard work and effort during the training for their improvement.
“We started focusing on our finishing a little bit more once we were having trouble scoring goals,” said Muia. “So just more reps, more concentration in the attacking third has started to pay off for us.”
Peacock also believed the team’s concentration level in the game was vital for the team’s victory and hoped the same for the next game against Stephen F. Austin.
“We were focused on Sam Houston and I think we did a really good job with that,” said Peacock. “If we play the way we play today, we should make it a good game. That’s all I can ask of my teammates, to give their best and make it a good game, but if we were able to tie or pull out a win, it will be huge for our spot in the conference tournament.”
However, Lady Lions were unable to repeat a similar performance against Stephen F. Austin on Sunday.
“I think staying focused for the entire 90 minutes and not having any of those mental breakdowns is probably the biggest difference,” said Muia.
There are three games left for the Lady Lions before the 2016 Southland Conference Tournament. They are currently fifth in the Southland Conference standings and need to be in the top four to qualify for the tournament. Muia thinks the team can still pull off something special from the remaining games.
“We need to keep the momentum going,” said Muia. “So if we can start stringing together wins and getting wins back to back and kind of going on a streak; this is the time of the year where we can do some really amazing things if we can keep our momentum rolling.”
Muia wants a consistent performance from the team in all the remaining games.
“We just have to go back and continue on the same thing and build a higher level of consistency,” said Muia. “We need to make sure we are mentally locked in and ready for those three games at the end.”
Lady Lions resume their quest for qualification against University of Central Arkansas in an away game on Oct. 21. This is followed by another away game against Northwestern State University on Oct. 23. The Lady Lion’s play Nicholls State University in the University Center for Senior Day on Oct. 28.
The next three games will be crucial for the Lady Lions chances to defend their title as they are in fifth place in the standings for the Southland Conference Tournament. Only the top four teams qualify for the tournament.
Nikisun Shrestha/The Lion's Roar
The next three games will be crucial for the Lady Lions chances to defend their title as they are in fifth place in the standings for the Southland Conference Tournament. Only the top four teams qualify for the tournament.
Nikisun Shrestha/The Lion's Roar
