Sports
Women’s soccer building on fast start
The Pointer
Ggott172@uwsp.edu
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point women’s soccer team won their first two conference games this past week, and is ready to build on the momentum of a 4-1 start, one game at a time.
Head coach Sheila Miech sees a confident team that is making fast adjustments.
“We got a whole new group of players, a whole new system, a whole new coaching staff, and there is a lot of excitement in the air,” Miech said. “The players are adjusting well to the new system.”
Much has been made of the team’s youth, and Miech believes it is a major reason for the team’s fast start.
“After last year, when we lost ten seniors, I think everyone thought we wouldn’t be any good, and it’s nice to be proving them wrong,” Miech said. “The players know this is their time to step up and they are excited about it.”
UWSP began their Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play last Saturday with a 1-0 win at UW-River Falls, with the lone goal scored by freshman Kirsti Nickels. They followed this up with a dominating 5-0 victory over UW-Oshkosh on Tuesday, with goals from junior Vicki Bieschke, senior Jackie Spees, junior Andrea Peiffer, freshman Sammy Greer, freshman Kirsti Nickels and a second consecutive shutout by junior goalie Liz Hunter.
Miech is happy with what she has seen, but realizes there is more work to do.
““I’m happy about the start, not allowing any goals yet in conference play, but we have a long season to go,” Miech said.
The Pointers were ranked 14th in the nation to start the season, but fell out of the rankings following their opening game loss to Wheaton. Miech recognizes that on one hand, rankings don’t have much bearing on the field, but on the other, they can serve as motivation.
“Starting the season ranked doesn’t really matter because it’s a reflection of what you did last year,” Miech said. “I think not being ranked now and trying to climb back makes us hungry.”
As of this past Monday, the Pointers were just out of the top 25 rankings according to the Web site www.D3soccer.com, but received 58 votes, second only to Springfield, in teams outside the top 25.
Miech knows there are a lot of games left to play, and the rankings do not matter yet.
“The most important ranking is what happens in the end,” Miech said. “We have a really good group; we just need to continue to learn to play together.”
The Pointers continue WIAC play on Friday, Sept. 18 at UW-Stout. They play at the University of Chicago next Wednesday, Sept. 23.
