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`The Millersville Women’s soccer team competed in one game over the last week. Unfortunately, the result was not much different than most of the other games thus far this season. The Marauders traveled to Syracuse, New York on Saturday and came away empty handed after losing 2-0 to Le Moyne college. Millersville was shut out for the second consecutive game. In the past three games combined, the Marauders have managed to find the back of the net only once.
Hopes were high entering the season, with 12 returnees expected to make an impact and improve upon last season’s 6-10-3 season. But things have not gone as planned and the Marauders have quickly found themselves in a 1-5 hole, which includes 0-3 in conference play. While it is still too early to write this years team off, if things do not begin to turn around in the near future, then perhaps the Marauders will have to start to hope to build for next season.
Millersville certainly will have their work cut out for them if they have any hopes of making a push for the postseason. While they are winless in PSAC East play, they still have nine conference match-ups remaining on the season schedule. In order to make the postseason, Millersville would have to win the majority of those games and hope for a few upsets in other games in the next few weeks.
While nobody questions the effort of the individuals on the team, it is obvious that someting must be done to improve this early season drought.
“We have a strong defense, and some pretty decent freshman who have stepped in,” senior Sarah Cameron said.
It seems that the problems would begin with the offense, especially in games of late. In six games the Marauders have scored just nine times. Last season, Millersville opened their year with a 4-2 record and put the ball past goalkeepers 16 times in those games.
“We have people that can score,” Cameron said. “We just need to start playing for possession instead of playing kick and run soccer. We possess the ball well at times, but we’re also not getting enough scoring chances because we’re not possessing the ball well enough.”
This year’s team will be looking to reverse the results from last year. After the hot 4-2 start for Millersville in 2008, the team went 2-8-3 in their final 13 matches. The 2009 team will be looking to have a turnaround just like that team of 2008, but in a much different fashion, they will be looking to turn those losses into wins.
Their first test comes against Mansfield Univeristy on Wednesday. Mansfield was pegged in dead last in the PSAC East in the preseason polls, but that spot currently belongs to Millersville at this point in the season. Luckily for Millersville they will have a chance to climb out of that spot by defeating Mansfield Wednesday as their team currently sits at sixth in the conference.
“We have the capability of being a better team,” Cameron said. “We’re more experienced than last year and we have a bunch of solid freshman stepping in.”
Millersville will then have a chance to improve even further on Saturday at 5 p.m. when they take on fifth place Shippensburg at home.
Spirits will continue to remain high for this young Marauders team, and at this point in the year anything is possible, and these girls are looking to pull off what most seem to think is impossible.