Adversity Biggest Gain!

The trip to Baylor for the 3 matches yesterday, proved to be exactly what we needed -- dealing with adversity on the road. As young as we are this has been the key all spring. I hate to sound Woodenesque, but we've said all along that it's the journey this spring, not the results.

Our number one priority this weekend was to settle some defensive questions and who fit in where in a 4-4-2. I was very pleased with our two center backs, Katie Taylor & Cheryl Martin. Cheryl as a true freshman and Katie, even younger as a red shirt freshman, proved they will be dynamic duo when they get more comfortable with each other and have the chance to gel a bit more. I also thought our outside backs, Sara Schneider and Julia Slater, got much more confident as the the day went on. In the second match they both really started to look to get forward out of the back and be an option, as well as got comfortable stepping high defensively.

In the midfield, Nikki Wilbur and Chelsea Cody both did a good job. Chelsea was hampered a bit by a strained muscle, which allowed Michelle Nguyen a good chance to step in and do a solid job in the second and third games. The nicest surprise of the day was Caroline Starns on the outside. Both her and Jenna Hayes proved to be very dangerous and showed they have the pace to stretch out a defensive line.

Up top, I didn't think we did a very good job of finding our strikers feet early enough to be successful. Anna Paulson had a great work rate and Lizzy Karoly scored a great goal to finish up the day. This is definitely an area where we need to use the dynamic players we've got in Lizzy, Kaylie Garcia and Jackie Torda. The intramural field certainly didn't help these technical players, as it was very hard and bumpy and small but again, that's the adversity I wanted us to have to deal with.

Our young players have to learn how to deal with poor conditions, bad officials (that certainly was not the case this weekend), bad weather, hostile atmospheres and tough travel conditions. So, overall it was certainly a weekend that I think accomplished our two top priorities -- dealing with adversity and our defensive shape. Now we can build on playing quicker and getting our offensive rhythm back in tune!