A feeling of underachievement was left in the hearts of the Oregon women’s club soccer team after being booted in last year’s National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) national tournament by Colorado Black.@@http://www.nirsa.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Welcome@@
The Ducks bowed out in the semifinals, and any hopes of getting back to the same national game spotlight that the team reached the year before were crushed.
“We did not achieve the goal that we wanted last year after we lost in the semifinals,” senior midfielder Kristina Lekas said. “We underachieved.”@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=kristina+lekas@@
Lekas, who is the team’s coordinator, expects a different result this season, hoping for a deeper run in the playoffs and a trip back to nationals.
“This is the first year that we joined a league. We definitely want to win that and be undefeated,” Lekas said. “We have a lot of games lined up. It is definitely going to take a lot of hard work and dedication for us to get back there.”
Head coach Dave Peterson, who is in his third year of coaching the Ducks, has high hopes for his team as well, expecting nothing but positivity for his team.@@http://clubsports.uoregon.edu/coordinators@@
In his first year of coaching, Peterson and the Ducks stormed into nationals and ended with a second place honor.
“I tell the girls that there is a lot to fight for and a lot of pride to have,” Peterson said. “We need to defend our reputation, which is a team that has gone to nationals and to semifinals in consecutive years in the national tournament.”
Tryouts for the Ducks were this week. Peterson intends on welcoming 14 new players this season, which makes for a youthful team as only six returning players are a part of this year’s squad.
According to Peterson, there was plenty of talent and potential on display, making the goal of getting back to a national title that much more realistic.
“We can see that there is talent here after these tryouts,” Peterson said. “It is going to take talent to get there. It is a matter of how we manage them. It is about how well we utilize our strengths to maximize and magnify the collective strengths and skills.
“I already see the goal of winning a national championship game as being more realistic.”
Regardless of the overwhelming amount of newcomers for the Ducks, Lekas said that there isn’t a concern about their inexperience; however, she did make clear that dedication and practice would be two things the Ducks will follow through on and enforce this year.
“We don’t have that many players returning; we really had a lot of talented players for the last couple of years,” Lekas said. “If we do not come out with that after tryouts, it is going to take another level of dedication for us.”
The Ducks’ first game of season will be this Saturday, Oct. 1 against the University of Portland at 1 p.m. on NexTurf Field. Then, the following day, the team travels to Oregon State for a 10 a.m. matchup with the Beavers.
For coaches and players alike, it will be a big test as this year’s women’s club soccer team prepares for their first set of league games for the 2011-2012 season.
Peterson believes that playing fundamental soccer, along with playing it cohesively and together, will propel the Ducks to another NIRSA national tournament appearance.
“We want to play attractive soccer. We want to put a competitive team on the field,” Peterson said. “We want to represent this school well and we want to win a national championship.”
Women’s club soccer sets lofty goals for 2011 season
Daily Emerald
September 27, 2011
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