Women’s Soccer Spring Round-Up

So, it’s not spring anymore: Women’s Soccer is wrapping up their spring season and they are now thinking about summer break. The girls will be concentrating on staying fit and getting playing time during the summer, in preparation for the “real” pre-season in August.
As with any other spring semester for college soccer players, UB Women’s Soccer spent hours at the gym and early mornings at the indoor courts building their fitness and looking forward to the spring scrimmages. NCAA regulations limit the length of time and number of days any team is allowed to practice and play during the off season. Thus, many weeks were spent solely on conditioning and later the team got in more regular training sessions to start preparing for the first games of 2004. These were indoor tournaments, hosted by UB, at the Wheeler Recreation Center.
This tournament was held on the weekend of March 27th, and featured teams such as Sacred Heart and New Haven, among others. Each team was given six games: one against each of the other teams, and one playoff game. Unfortunately, the Lady Knights did not fare very well, despite some spirited starts, as they could not maintain their level of intensity. The team had to manage without its seniors and was also attempting to integrate three new players: Nicola Ireson and Emily Byron, who did not play during the fall season, and new acquisition Marie Widerman.
Enduring continual indoor training sessions as the cold weather lingered here in New England, the UB Women’s Soccer team looked ahead to the next tournament on April 10th. This time the team had to travel to Central Connecticut State where it participated in an 8-team tourney which saw the likes of Hartford, CCSU, and a couple of club teams. Again UB did not perform as well as expected but showed marked improvement in their approach and team play. The girls were extremely disappointed with the results and resolved to improve, particularly since their next challenge would be like a regular game with full teams playing on a full field.
Contributing to a positive mood was the start of outdoor practice sessions. Winter has gone on for far too long, and everyone is enthusiastic about playing on the grass again. The UB Women’s Soccer team is now focused on their upcoming game at Fairfield University on April 16th, at which they are hoping to drastically improve their as-yet flagging spring season. Also, everyone is curious as to who will be brought in to strengthen the team and in order to continue what is now becoming a winning habit in the fall season.