After kicking off the season with a nine game unbeaten streak, the women’s soccer team suffered their first loss of the season in a 2-0 defeat against Saint Leo University.
It has been a difficult series for the Spartans as they have played away in four of their last five matches.
After the loss to Saint Leo, the Spartans rebounded in a 2-0 victory against Florida Institute of Technology before going back on the road to face Barry.
Ranked ninth at the time, Barry defeated the Spartans 3-1 in a close match in Miami Shores. As of now, the Spartans sit firmly in the middle of the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) table.
In regard to the recent pair of losses, coach Gerry Lucey said, “We created enough opportunities for a result, but weren’t clinical in the final third.”
Unfortunately, this has been a running theme for the offense as they have been struggling to find the back of the net, despite displaying excellent playmaking ability.
The team has outshot opponents in nearly every match, the only exception being against Saint Leo, and have made great use of their set pieces on the pitch.
Senior Captain Lauren Moore has been a maestro of sorts in the playmaking role for the team and the offense has been able to get after opposing defenses. Junior Cici Gonzalez has continued to be a goal scoring threat and the Moore-Gonzalez pairing has been wreaking havoc through the center of the pitch.
Along the sidelines, wingers junior Amber Pennybaker and senior Gabby Russo have been delivering stunning crosses and their blistering speed creates huge advantages for the Spartans.
On the defensive front, the back four have remained resilient and have been able to keep the team in games. Discipline has been a minor issue with three yellow cards in the past four matches and overall fouls have been a problem, with 42 in conference play.
Despite this, the team has still avoided red cards and have managed opposing set pieces to a tee.
One of the brightest players on the team so far has been sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Frykgard. Frykgard has been a brick wall for the majority of the season by averaging less than a goal allowed per game from over 70 shots faced.
With a team that is still hungry to win, the Spartans are poised to gain good seeding in the SSC tournament this weekend if they rebound during their tough conference schedule.
Playing in one of the toughest conferences in the NSCAA, UT has their work cut out for them.
“This is a very tough conference and there are no easy games. From here to the end of the season we need to be more focused on the details within the game and do our best to control and manage.” said Lucey.
However, with the tough road trips out of their way, the Spartans are more than able to bounce back. The tough schedule does not frighten the team by any means and freshman centerback Madison Cox said, “As we head into the tougher part of our schedule, I think our back line will get more competition but we are ready for it.”Starting tomorrow, the Spartans will finish out their conference play at home.
The team’s unbeaten home streak will be put on the line as they finish their conference season against Nova Southeastern, Eckerd, and Rollins.
A strong October is not out of the realm of possibility for the Spartans as they make a final stand at home after a difficult road series.
The upcoming home stand is much looked forward to by Lucey as he said, “It will be nice to get a run of games at home in eight days. Feels like we’ve been on the road a lot. I’m sure the team will be happy to see some familiar faces in the stands.”
Marcus Mitchell can be reached at marcus.mitchell@spartans.ut.edu