Tech soccer celebrates New Year's day in September
The entrance to Tech soccer field was covered with tinsel, and
flyers reading 'Happy New Year' Friday afternoon. Decorating Tech's
bench were more flyers, beads, party hats, streamers, and even
cupcakes.
Happy New Year; that is the mentality the Golden Eagle soccer team
has heading into Ohio Valley Conference play starting Sunday, when
it hosts Jacksonville State.
"If we take the things that we learned from the non-conference,
then it's definitely a new year," first year head coach Becky
Fletcher said.
After playing six of its first eight games on the road, and
dropping five one-goal games, the Golden Eagles take a 1-9 record
into the conference season.
"We have a 1-9 record right now going into conference play, but
we're 0-0 walking into Sunday. We have a fresh start," Fletcher
said. "Our goal is to get to the conference tournament, and get as
far as we can in the conference tournament, and that is still a
goal of ours, that is still attainable."
The non-conference schedule, which was already in place when
Fletcher was hired in February, included early games in Georgia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, and a trip to Ohio where Tech faced
the last three Mid-American Conference champions.
"First we just forget about those games, they're in the past,
there's nothing we can do about them," senior Rebecca Ross said.
"We've prepared well, and we all know that we're ready for
conference play."
Although that tough schedule hasn't helped Tech's record, it has
helped the team develop, and prepare them for conference play.
"If you look at where we started, and where we are now, I would
take that growth over a win in a couple more games," Fletcher said.
"We faced a lot of teams that were as strong or stronger than some
team's we'll face in our conference, and our conference is good.
We're playing top-level opponents that are getting us ready to play
a tough conference schedule day-in and day-out."
Tech's last three games, all one-goal losses, two coming in the
final minute, one of which in overtime, have showed that the Golden
Eagles are improving, and are ready to move forward and win
games.
"Thursday's game was the biggest turning point. Five or six of the
girls were in tears after the game, because they had lost,"
assistant coach Chris Walker said. "They really care about playing
well, and winning games, rather than just suiting up, playing
soccer, and then moving on."
Now that the conference season has arrived, the Golden Eagles are
taking the positives out of the non-conference season, and looking
forward to putting those things into action against their OVC
opponents.
"We've improved a lot defensively. I think we've come together as a
team overall," said Tech senior Brianne Lankford. "There is still a
lot of room for improvement, but we're a long way from where we
started."
Right now only two of the nine OVC teams boast winning records,
with UT Martin at 6-2-1, and Murray State at 5-4-1. Southeast
Missouri, who was picked to win the conference, is 0-5-1, while
Eastern Illinois, picked third preseason, is 0-9-1. Tech is the
only OVC member that hasn't played a conference game.
"The conference as a whole is anybody's ball game," Fletcher said.
"It's going to be everybody fighting for everything in conference
play."
The Golden Eagles play each conference team once in OVC
regular-season play. At seasons end, the top four OVC teams advance
to the conference tournament, and have a chance for an NCAA
tournament bid. Tech was last in the OVC tournament in 2003.
"It would be a great start for coach Fletcher to make it to the
conference tournament in her first year," Lankford said.
The Golden Eagles have a 0-0 record in the new year, and with a new
mentality, will control their own destiny throughout conference
play.
