The Augustana women’s soccer team lost its first game this past weekend after starting the 2016-17 season with a 5-0 start.
The Vikings lost 1-0 during their home game against the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and are now 5-1 so far in the season.
The lone goal was scored about 64 minutes into the game. The Vikings struggled on offense, only having six shots compared to La Crosse’s 14.
Before their loss, senior and captain Hannah Lohmeier said the team was determined to defend their home field and has been putting a lot of effort into their practices in order to have success.
“Every day we are identifying ways that we can be better individually and as a team, which is fueling us to keep working hard in practice to improve,” Lohmeier said.
The team’s 5-0 record almost became a 4-1 during their game against Loras College last Tuesday. In order to preserve their undefeated record, the team rallied during the intense game as they were down by 1-0 after the first half, but then came back to score two goals in the second half and win the game.
“It isn’t easy to go down a goal, especially one not off the run of play, and we kept working and pushing to score and we ended up winning. So that was promising,” co-captain and senior Brianne Frys said.
The game against Loras reassured the team’s confidence and trust with one another. Lohmeier said because of the bonds the girls have off the field, the team is able to connect better together on the field.
“It is easy to play for the girls around you when they are your best friends, and we are lucky that that is the case for us,” Lohmeier said.
Despite the loss, Frys believes the team can work together to achieve its goals.
“Obviously it will be a lot of work, but our group of girls does a great job supporting and pushing each other,” Frys said.
The team hopes to continue with their success throughout the season by keeping a positive attitude. With practice, the team is determined to keep building the confidence they will need to achieve their goals together.
“Every player on the team has played a significant role in the success we have had so far, and, hopefully, with practice, the harmony we are seeing when we play will improve even more,” Lohmeier said.
As a team and individually, the players set many goals for the season.
We are taking it day by day and constantly identifying areas in which we can improve,” Lohmeier said.