Redshirt junior midfielder Maggie Ramsey made six shots and three shots on goal in the game against Southern University and A&M College over the weekend. The win brought the Lady Lions overall record to 2-3. Nikisun Shrestha/The Lion's Roar
The Lady Lions soccer team recorded a loss followed by a win over the weekend at home against University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Southern University and A&M College respectively. The win broke their three-match losing streak and improved their overall record to 2-3.
“It was good to finally get back winning,” said freshman midfielder Megan Gordon. “It wasn’t obviously the best performance we could’ve had, but just to get the win again was good. I think it’s lifted the girls again, and hopefully, we’re prepared for a hard game on Thursday.”
Head Coach Christopher McBride thought the win against Southern was essential after a loss against ULL.
“We got away with a win, and that’s the most important thing,” said McBride. “It was a physical battle out there. They were very big and athletic teams, and they came at us and ran at us. After playing on Friday and they didn’t play on Friday, it really tested us. So, it was a good test for us to see where we are mentally, to see if we were switched on for the full game, and we did. Another clean sheet and getting the win was very important.”
Sophomore forward Amber Marinero scored the win against Southern and was pleased with the win but was not carried away by it.
“It feels great,” said Marinero. “We’ve been waiting for this. Even though we did have a losing streak, having this win, it does not determine anything. We’re still gonna fight and push through, and we still have things to work on.”
Marinero thought the team was made uncomfortable by Lafayette with their tactics leading to a 1-0 loss.
“We, as a team, didn’t connect very well in the Lafayette game,” said Marinero. “They kinda threw a formation that we weren’t able to handle very much and kinda threw us off. Today, we really wanted it, and we connected.”
Gordon felt the team needed to put on a shift after the defeat against Lafayette.
“We needed more mobility and pace in the middle,” said Gordon. “We needed to move the ball more. So, we looked to try and exploit the spaces in behind the center forwards more than in the ULL game.”
McBride also made some tactical changes in order for the team to cope with the attack of Jaguars and the fatigue after playing on Friday.
“We made a couple of tactical changes in the game,” said McBride. “We made a different formation to help us out and make us a little bit solid to stop the attack from where the threats were coming.”
The team still needs to improve on finishing the chances. Both McBride and Gordon feel the team needs to attend to this aspect of the game.
“Just going forward, we need more confidence in front of the goal,” said Gordon. “Once we start getting some shots on target, I think it’ll all come together. We’ve been doing a lot of fast-paced, high intensity shooting drills where coach will play us the ball and we’ll run into it. Just take shots, lots of shots, just the repetitions that will get drilled into our heads.”
McBride feels the drills will start to come off and the team will finish better in the upcoming games.
“It’s getting there,” said McBride. “We got a goal tonight from something we had practiced, which was very good to see. There were still a lot of chances there that we should be taking advantage of. So, we’re making steps. We’re progressing. We’re getting better every day, and that’s the important thing. Preparing us for conference, regardless of the opponents.”
Gordon feels the team is only a few steps away from getting to top gear.
“I’m just looking forward to when all of us girls will click,” said Gordon. “I think it’ll be really good. I think, as a team, we’re so close to it all coming together. It’s just that final last piece, and then we’ll do really well this year.”
The team will play against the University of South Alabama on Thursday, Sept. 7. McBride feels it is yet another test for the team before the conference games start.
“It’s another chance for us to play another very good team in South Alabama,” said McBride. “They’ll really push us and let us know tactically, technically and physically where we need to be for conference.”
