USD in ‘must-win’ position to advance in Summit League
If the Coyote women’s soccer team wants to compete in the Summit League Tournament, the team has to hold a “must-win” mentality for the final two matches, head coach Mandy Green said.
The University of South Dakota (9-6-2, 2-2-2) is carrying an improved record from last year, but a pair of recent conference losses to Denver and South Dakota State put the team in a tight position heading into the season’s final weeks.
“This year, we are more dangerous. We’ve won more games, we’ve lost fewer games,” Green said. “But this is the time of year that we have been the least successful, so there is still work to be done.”
Friday’s 3-1 loss to SDSU wasn’t the result the Coyotes were expecting. USD was of dominating play while holding possession of the ball for the first 20 minutes of the contest. However, multiple defensive mistakes in the first half led to a quick succession of three goals in less than 12 minutes.
“This shows that we are still not where we need to be to rise to the challenge of a big game,” Green said. “We still do not play to a high level when we get down.
The Coyotes finish out the season away from home with two matches against conference foes Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and Western Illinois after a needed conference win Tuesday against Oral Roberts, 1-0.
IUPUI (5-9-3, 3-3 Summit) will likely be the greatest test for the Coyotes, who tied the Jaguars 1-1 in double overtime last year.
Going up against IUPUI, junior midfielder Danielle Anderson said the team is going back to focus on its basics with possession and ball control.
Anderson scored USD’s lone goal against SDSU and said her team plans to compete with a “we will win” mentality to alleviate pressure leading up to the conference tournament.
“If we go in there with a must-win mentality, we get frantic,” Anderson said. “The last thing we want to do is not the play the game on our terms and at our pace.”
Junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Viktor said the Coyotes are in the best shape for this stage of the season, but they are still struggling to get a hold on the right level of energy to maintain throughout a match.
“We got way too fired up against SDSU,” Viktor said. “We just couldn’t maintain it. All of a sudden, we were down 3 goals and looking lost. Going into the last conference matches, we know we need to settle down and not lose control.”
[notification type=”grey” title=””]Next Match: Friday at IUPUI (8-6-2, 3-3-0) Where: Indianapolis, Ind. When: 6 p.m., Central Standard Time[/notification]
(Photo: Senior midfielder Shannon Keller trys to keep the ball away from South Dakota State University sophomore Madison Yueill Friday afternoon. The Coyotes would go on to lose to the Jacks 3-1. Malachi Petersen / The Volante)
