Soccer looks to rebound after two-win season

As students at the University of South Dakota arrived on campus over the weekend of Aug. 23, the Coyote’s women soccer team was already a week into their season.

The 2013 schedule represents a new season with a fresh start. The Coyotes struggled out of the gate last year, finishing last in the Summit League with a record of 2-13-3. They are returning with much more experience than last season. The roster this season has 12 upperclassmen along with seven returning sophomores.

Head coach Mandy Green enters the new season for her third year as coach. The team’s record a week into the season is 0-1-1. They kicked off the year with a 3-0 victory in an exhibition match against Viterbo, an NAIA team from La Crosse, Wisc. The team looked sharp and got two goals from first-year Corey Strang. The Coyotes first game was at home against Loyola, where the game ended in a 1-1 tie after two overtime periods. Two days later they hosted a match vs. Iowa State (2-0)  Last season the Cyclones beat the Coyotes 7-0. The Coyotes proved to be much better competition this year. The Coyotes didn’t let the humid 90 degree temperature stop them from out shooting the Cyclones 19-16. They tied it at 1-1 late in the game until the lead unraveled, eventually falling 3-1

The Coyotes will now hit the road, not having another home game until Sept. 15 against College of St. Mary.

Their next game will be Aug. 30 as they travel west to take on Wyoming.