By Joseph Chapman
With the fall season suspended, women’s soccer is working hard to prepare for the beginning of their upcoming spring season. While it has been hard on the players to go so long without game time, their focus remains razor sharp.
Head coach Brian Shrum discussed the playing style of his squad.
“My philosophy is … someone who wants to attack and score goals. So the objective score, one more than the opponent, so if we score five and a score for four, we still win. Our goalkeeper doesn’t want to hear that she would rather make clean sheets,” he said. “But we are going to be a team that will come after people and not sit in. We’re going to go after to score goals, hopefully, and play a lot further away from our goal than the other team.”
As a freshman, forward Marcella Sizer, an education major, led the team in total points and goals as well as contributing three assists. Now, as a sophomore, she hopes to have an even greater impact.
“I just want to get more shots on goals for more goals, get more assists, assist others to score goals, we just need to score more goals in general, to get wins and make it to the tournament,” she said.
Freshman midfielder Abby Knight, a forensic science major, discussed how Shrum has been helping her find her place in the team.
“When it comes to practices and stuff, I was super nervous; like, the first week just because it’s a big transition, like high school soccer to college soccer,” she said. “And then the more, like, comfortable I got, because with me like comfortability, when, like, I get comfortable, I start to gain confidence on the field too. So it’s nice to finally get back into the groove of things.”
During quarantine, the players said they kept busy by watching shows like “The Vampire Diaries” and “Grey’s Anatomy” on Netflix. However, they said the coaching staff left them a thorough workout plan to ensure they were ready as soon as fall arrived, if the NCAA allowed the season to continue as normal. Senior goalie Kate McEachern, a criminal justice major, said she had a wonderful workout partner in her dog, Finn, and the extended summer break allowed her to have the time to put the work in.
“I would say I’ve gotten in more shape just because we’ve had a lot more time to be on our own and do what we wanted to do. And it made me motivate more to get in shape for whatever season is going to be.”
Sizer talked about her reaction to the decision of her season being delayed.
“I kind of thought it was going to happen. So I kind of was preparing myself for it. But I was still really devastated because I like playing soccer. Like, playing games, that’s how you get in shape. That’s the most fun part. So hearing that just kind of broke my heart. But I knew we could still get to practice and hang out with our teammates. So it’s still fun to just practice.”
The players said that the team’s favorite moment last season was their conference win against Cleveland State. They hope to find even more success in the Horizon League this year.
