By Shelby Kuni
With an overall record of 12-1-1 and a 42 home game unbeaten streak, you would never know the University of Tampa women’s soccer team was struggling this year.
We have won nine out of fourteen games by only one goal. We have gone into overtime twice. We have lost and tied to teams that weren’t even ranked. We have scored 33 goals and let in 11.
Last year we ended the season 18-3-1. Two of the three games we lost were to ranked teams. We averaged 3.2 goals per game, scored 72 times and only gave up 14 goals.
So what’s different this year from last year? I thought the best answers for this question would come straight from the mouth of some of our returning players:
“It’s obvious we’re struggling offensively and defensively. We are giving up goals we shouldn’t and not scoring nearly as many as we did last year. We haven’t been playing to our potential, but we are still winning games which is our ultimate goal,” Sophomore midfielder Ashley Flateland said.
“I feel like we are lacking the heart and pride we used to have. Every class, with the exception of the seniors, has walked into a program that was previously successful. We haven’t really experienced failure like they have, and we’ve lost the pride that the upperclassmen once brought to the team,” Junior Courtney Evans said.
“I feel like we think there is so much pressure on us to do as well (and better) than last year because of how successful we were. But the truth is we are a completely different team this season. We lost four-time SSC Defender of the Year Malana Winskas, All-Region midfielder Kara Rasmussen, SSC Freshman of the Year Jocelyn Charette and All-American forward Sam Robinson. We have a new coach and we are playing in different formations. I think we have adjusted very well given the circumstances, and we need to keep our heads up and focused on winning one game at a time,” Senior captain Shannon Aitken said.
“A sign of a strong team is when they still find ways to win when things aren’t going as well as they would like on the field. We have a lot of room for growth but I certainly have a lot of faith in the team; we’re still beating some of the best teams in the conference and nation. When the team does start clicking and we start playing to our potential we are going to be great,” Head coach Gerry Lucey said.
So, whether it is lack of pride, poor communication on the field or the fact that we are having to adjust to a new coach, new teammates and new formations, things are clearly not going as well as we planned this season.
But to the people who don’t believe we can make it back to the NCAA Final Four again this year, to the people who don’t have faith in our team anymore, to the fans that continuously leave at halftime, and to the teams that think we are now beatable, this is what we have to say: we are still winning, and we will continue to win, because champions find ways to win, even when all the odds are against them.
We are members of the University of Tampa women’s soccer team. We rely on each other, make sacrifices for each other, stand by each other, and have faith in each other, because without each other we would be nothing. Each individual’s strength is the team and our team’s strength is each individual. We share common goals and desires that bond each of us together tighter than closest friends; we are a family, and we will fight to the end together.
