The Eckerd Women's Soccer Team has continued to progress through its season, clinching just one victory, but giving it their all at every game. After the exciting win over the Thomas Nighthawks, the Tritons traveled to Rollins to face the Tars. Although they lost 2-0 to Rollins, who are currently ranked eighth in the nation, Coach McCauley thought his team held up great defensively.
“Considering they are currently ranked eighth in the nation, and probably the toughest team we played all season, that's a pretty good result. Defensively we did an outstanding job. “
Throughout this season, the Tritons have continued to excel. Even if they are not winning every game, they certainly are improving. The Tritons are a young team, and they still have a lot to learn. However, they are certainly making progress, just as they did this past Saturday.
“We continue to get better, our back line is really playing well, and our midfield is trying to come into the game more, defensively at least. And our forwards are doing a great job defending as well. “
Goalkeeper
Marisa Berger played an exceptional game against Rollins, as she was able to contribute eight saves. McCauley, as well as the rest of the team, noticed improvements as she went from being a backup goalkeeper with very little playing time to participating in every game this year.
“As a coaching staff, we were unsure of what she brought to the table, and this year she has done a tremendous job marshaling the box itself, collecting through balls, [making] breakaway saves, communicating with the back…She has done a lot of superb things that help settle the team.”
The Tritons hope to continue their improvement as they face Nova Southeastern (5-4, 2-2 SSC) this Wednesday October 7th, and Barry University (2-7, 0-1 SSC) on Saturday October 10th. Both teams are tough competitors, but McCauley has hope in his team as he stated:
“We always seem to play Nova fairly well, especially at home. I believe that they are a team that we can play well against and perhaps steal a win from if everyone plays well together. “
At this part of the season, everyone in the Division II Women's Soccer will be a tough competitor. Everyone within the conference as well as the region are strong teams, so the next few games will be tough as the Tritons face Nova, Barry, and Tampa in the upcoming games.
On how different Nova will be from Barry on Saturday, McCauley stated, “It looks like Barry is struggling right now. I think they are potentially beatable as well, and our main focus for our team is making sure that we approach each match mentally prepared and ready to get in there to make things happen. Whether its Barry or Nova, we can have an opportunity to pull wins out of that.”
With only seven games left in the season, the Tritons are hoping to steal a conference game from one of these opponents. If they are mentally ready for each game, then they certainly have a great chance of being victorious. McCauley hopes for a few more improvements within each player, and is certainly willing to move players around when he feels like it will have a positive effect in order to make the team successful.
“Overall we are still really just trying to, [as a young team], understand what the demands are and how to deal with them. We are continually trying to make steps forward. Our efforts have been fantastic and people are working hard and getting better. It is a process that will take a little time, but overall we are trying to keep pushing and moving forward.”
