BG women’s soccer head coach Lindsay Basalyga is unhappy with her team’s culture.
After achieving their first win of the season in their previous game at Chicago State, the Falcons dropped their match Sunday afternoon 3-0 against Detroit. Detroit entered into the game with a 1-4-1 record, nearly similar to BG’s 1-4 record.
“The soccer looked good … it wasn’t a 3-0 difference between us and this team,” Basalyga said. “The soccer is good, it’s much better than it was this time last year, but our priorities are a little screwed up when it comes to culture.”
Prior to its matchup with the Falcons, Detroit had dropped its previous three games.
The Titans and Falcons were nearly neck and neck on the final stat sheet, but Detroit was able to find the back of the net. The first goal came with just under 10 minutes left to play in the first half, giving Detroit a 1-0 lead. The Titans connected again just a minute later, giving them a 2-0 advantage into the half. Their third and final goal came late in the second half of the game, solidifying their lead against the Falcons.
BG senior Ashley Garr was on the sidelines for the Falcons with an injury for the third game in a row. Basalyga said the injury in day-to-day.
“Honestly, the people that have stepped into that role have done extremely well,” she said. “Ashley definitely brings a personality to that area of the field, but I think Kara [Ross] and Paige [Amodio] have done an outstanding job.”
Though some of her players have stepped up to the plate, Basalyga was still disappointed with Sunday’s loss.
“Our culture is not where it needs to be right now and that’s really disappointing,” she said. “I’m really disappointed in our team and in terms of where the culture is a year and a half into our program.”
In order to improve the team’s culture, Basalyga said the players need to buy into the BG process.
“The players have to make a choice to change it or we’re going to recruit,” Basalyga said. “As coaches I give them the structure, but they’ve got to live the structure; they’ve got to live in the direction the program is going and if they don’t do that we’ll recruit. We’ll recruit the players that fit the culture.”
The Falcons will take to the road for their next match. On Sept. 19, BG will travel to Indianapolis to take on Butler University at 7 p.m.