Spring games are usually more about improving on the field as a team instead of the result of the game, but for the women’s soccer team it is the exact opposite.
According to head coach Lindsay Basalyga, the Falcons have to learn how to win before anything.
That is exactly what the Falcons did as they won all five of the games they played Saturday morning in their 6v6 indoor tournament.
“We’ve been working a lot on finding a way to win,” junior Ashley Garr said. “The big stressor for us was finding a way to win and not getting down on ourselves if we are down a goal.”
That again was something they accomplished as they went down a goal in their last game against Owens Community College, but came back to score four goals and win 4-1.
The Falcons played Owens Community College, two teams from The University of Findlay and two teams from Tiffin University. Although they only have 10 players on the roster they ended the tournament with a goal differential of 20 scoring 26 goals and only giving up six.
“This is a really good opportunity for the players to get a lot of touches on the ball,” Basalyga said. “There are a lot of moments to make decisions that you don’t see in an 11v11 game.”
After the 2013 season the Falcons lost six seniors including captains Jenny Fowler and Alyssa Carmack to graduation. This offseason they have had to find new leaders within the program which was difficult in the first few weeks, Basalyga said. Ashley Garr, Sydney Huth and Kylie Briem have stepped up and taken on those leadership roles for the Falcons.
“It’s been a big change for me because there were such strong roles in the senior class last fall,” Garr said. “So I have really had to step up and take a leadership role that I’m not used to. I have really enjoyed stepping up and changing the type of leader I have had to be.”
With the Falcons in a rebuilding time, they also have seen ten players walk away from the program over the last year because it was not what they wanted. The coaching staff has worked on selling this roster on why they should be a part of this program.
“It wasn’t right for them and that’s okay,” Basalyga said. “Rebuilding a program is a difficult task so they have watched some players walk away … seeing that, I think, has made them realize more why they want to be a part of this program.”
Rebuilding processes don’t happen over night and they do not happen with coaching staffs who continue to do the same thing. This staff has worked through this process in creative ways by making every practice session competitive even in ways that aren’t soccer specific.
“Winning is a habit and unfortunately that hasn’t been a habit of BG women’s soccer… I think it is just about finding confidence,” Basalyga said. “Winning is a mentality but every day we are putting pressure on the players on how to win, handle a lead, how to comeback and how to win the next game.”
The Falcons took a step forward this weekend in winning all five of their games but the spring season is just beginning as they will play Capital University, Concordia University [Michigan] and Northwestern Ohio April 5 at 10 a.m.
“This is something they will look back on ten years from now and say ‘I was there when it was tough,’” Basalyga said. “There is no other athlete on campus that is going through the experience that these ten players are going through.”
