The Eastern Mennonite University Royals Women’s soccer team returned to the field recently for the first time this spring after a long time off, getting to play two games. The Royals opened up against local rival, Bridgewater College. The Eagles scored a goal early and didn’t score again until the 82nd minute of the game. The Royals had a very impressive defensive outing, but ended up losing 2-0.
The Royals returned to the field a few days later to take on the Washington and Lee Generals. The Royals couldn’t stop the high powered offense of the Generals. The Generals scored four goals in the first half and five in the second half, shutting out the Royals 9-0 and giving them an early 0-2 record.
Head Coach Ted Erickson saw some positives coming from the first two games. “I saw a group of young women who went out and competed with all their might, despite having low roster numbers due to the amount of players who decided to take this year off from playing soccer. We have also been able to see a lot out of our freshman, which is helpful as we plan for the fall season and what we can help them focus on this summer to continue their growth,” said Erickson.
Also, with early games come opportunities to improve. “We want to see our fitness improve. It is difficult to prepare for games and the fitness needed when you are limited in training time and style. Now that we have a more frequent schedule and games on a weekly basis, I think we will certainly see growth. Since we are training more frequently, we expect to see the speed of play (ball movement) increase. Our first touch needs to become more precise and overall team communication can be higher,” said Erickson.
For junior Hannah York, it was a good feeling to get back on the field to play. “It has been really great to get back on the field and finally get to be back with the team and get to know the freshman,” said York. In this season York has set out some goals. “We have a pretty young team, so just getting everyone experience and giving 100% effort in each game,” said York.
For first-year Anna Filipkowski, it felt good to get to play in a college game. “It almost feels like a sigh of relief that I made it this far, and it is exciting that I got the opportunity to play at this level,” said Filipkowski. Filipkowski saw some differences in the first two games that she hasn’t seen before. “The game is much faster than a high school game. The girls also can shoot the ball at a faster pace than in high school,” said Filipkowski.
The Royals hope to bounce back and get some momentum going into this week.
