The BG women’s soccer team looks to kick off the second half of their regular season with a pair of road wins this weekend. The squad will be facing Cleveland State on Friday and Mid-American Conference foe, Akron, on Sunday.
The Falcons have not won a game since their season opener against Duquesne. They enter the weekend with a 0-3-1 record in the MAC, 1-8-1 overall.
The team is improving in the scoring department, which had been a problem area through the first half of the season. Juniors Molly Bremen and Samantha Meister both had goals in the Falcon’s match against Eastern Michigan last Sunday.
Playing away from their home field for the second weekend in a row should be no problem for the team.
“If you look at the history of our results, we actually do better on the road. Why? I can’t tell you. We’ve always done well on the road,” head coach Andy Richards said.
The Falcons first stop will be at Cleveland State. The Vikings first-year program has yet to win a game and has been shut out in the ten matches they have played so far. Richards is still expecting a competitive game.
“We’re playing at their place and I’m sure they’ll give us a good battle,” he said.
BG will also be faced with quality competition from within the conference when they play Akron on Sunday. The Zips, who had a bye this past weekend, are 1-3-0 in the conference after beating Marshall 2-1 two weeks ago an 3-5-0 overall.
“They’re a very competitive team. It will be a tough game I’m sure,” Richards said.
To prepare for the weekend’s matches, the squad has been focusing on solving any remaining problems with scoring goals as well as raising their level of intensity. The team will be attempting to beat their opponents by playing the games at a high pace.
“We’re going to be looking at playing as quickly as we can. We want to play as efficiently as we can and force the pace to beat some teams,” Richards said.
While a few Falcons are battling injuries this week, most of the team is healthy with the expected mid-season bumps and bruises. Keeper Jenifer Kernahan is fighting a knee injury and forward Britt Anderson is recovering from a sore Achilles tendon.
By far, the strongest element the Falcons bring to the table this weekend is their confidence and positive attitude. Richards has noticed the team’s optimism and confidence.
“I think they’re very positive right now,” he said. “They recognize that they are playing well.”
The Falcons hope to continue to play well and return home with two wins.
