Men’s and Women’s Soccer Teams Begins Fall Schedule
We are just over two weeks into school, and the University of Dallas’s men’s and women’s soccer teams have already played a combined total of eight games. Talk about hard work! The season officially started on Aug. 30th and Aug. 31st, although players and coaches were well involved in preseason practices and a few scrimmages before then.
Both players and coaches seem ready and hopeful about the season. In an interview, the men’s teeam coach, David Hoffmann said that, although the team did not do as well as hoped in their first few games, he is “excited for a new season. The SCAC [Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference] is in a very strong cycle right now. Last year [places one through five] in the West Region were all in the SCAC… number 17 in the nation did not make the conference tournament.”
Hoffmann also said, “In a coaches’ poll of Texas colleges, there are several conference members above NCAA Division 1 teams. So the challenges have a dose of excitement as well as concerns.”
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The teams have a hefty schedule, with away games in Arkansas, Colorado, and home games lasting through September and October. The season begins to wrap up in early November with the SCAC Conference Championships.
Senior Evan Corsiglia said that the team works very well together, and they have been improving since their first game. The men’s soccer team is still pretty young, with 18 players in their first year of college soccer. While this can be a tough situation, it also makes for a lot of growth and a lot of potential.
The women’s team has played several games so far this season, winning one. The women’s team also features a solid amount of freshman and transfer students. Freshman Elizabeth Lensing said that for a younger team, they have had cohesive communication and cohesiveness.
“Part of soccer is having to predict what the person in front of you and behind you is going to do on your team, not only on the other team.”
She also said that a positive mindset and communication is super important when trying to play as a team. When asked whether having all the girls double knot their cleats at the same time in a kind of ceremony would improve team spirit and get players hyped.
Lensing responded, “That’s a weird question.”
The schedule for both men’s and women’s teams include lots of home games as well as away, and both Corsiglia and Lensing mentioned how beneficial it is to have the UD crowd turn out.
Lensing said, “I think it’s so fun [when people show up to cheer]. The past games have been good. People have shown up pretty well.” She asked that when the women play Trinity, “everyone needs to be there, because they are our biggest rivals.”
UD plays Trinity on Friday, October 18th. On Friday, September 20th and Monday, the 23rd, while the men play Nelson University and Dallas Christian College respectively.
Corsiglia said of those two home games, “We’d love as much support as we can get.”
He also mentioned that the men’s number one hype song at their last home game was “Heartless” by Kanye West. Perhaps that could be a good one to play when you show up to the next game.
Freshman Elizabeth Lensing taking it down the line for a cross. Courtesy of Elizabeth Lensing.