by Rachael Quigley
special to The Current

Large student crowds, extraordinary depth, and a senior player close to an astonishing record could not help the UM-St. Louis women's soccer team overcome sluggish first halves as they fell to Central Missouri State, 2-1, and Truman State, 1-0, in a weekend home stretch.

"We just weren't ready," said Head Coach Beth Goetz on the game against Central Missouri State. "We came out and played horrible defense the first 20 minutes of the game. Second half, we came out and played very well. We had tons of chances on goal, hit the crossbar a few times, and missed a penalty kick. We just could not put the ball in the net."

Sunday's game against Truman State was not much better for the Riverwomen.

"We definitely weren't playing very well," Goetz said. "We gave up a goal in the first half again, and that's how the game ended, 1-0. We were playing a lot of long ball instead of trying to get the ball to feet, which really wasn't working."

The losses have given the Riverwomen plenty to think about before beginning conference play in the coming weeks, and Goetz knows exactly what needs to happen for her team to be competitive.

"We're not capitalizing on our shots," Goetz said. "We still need to create more scoring opportunities but, above all, we need to take advantage of the chances we do create."

The focus and ability to correct problems is evident in talking with players.

"We'd like to blame the losses on bad luck, but obviously we can't," Junior Cara Carrothers said. "We know the things that we need to work on for our upcoming games, so we've put it behind us to move on to the rest of our conference games."

In working to improve the team, Goetz stressed the importance of being ready before even taking the field.

"It's all mental," Goetz said. "We've talked a lot about visualizing and preparing. We've encouraged the players that they need to develop some sort of routine before the game starts."

Even with the losses, confidence is not a problem for the team and their coach.

"We definitely have confidence in that we can turn things around and that we're a good team," Goetz said. "We aren't getting killed by any means. There's a lot of positives."

Positives for the UM-St. Louis soccer women include senior star Carrie Marino, for whom Goetz has much praise.

"Carrie, just by the way she plays and the type of person she is, has earned a lot of respect from the other players," Goetz said.

Another player high on Goetz's outstanding list is promising Sophomore Alaina O'Donnell.

"She's definitely stepped up and done her job and even more so that it's been contagious to other players," Goetz said. "So, not only is she focusing on herself, but she's trying to pull everybody else in to be able to have that same focus."

A big surprise this weekend came not from the players but the students who turned out in big numbers to support the team.

"That was so encouraging," Goetz said. "We've never had that kind of support, ever, and we just hope that they enjoyed it, regardless of the outcome of our game. Our girls were really excited, and we hope the fans come back."

The Riverwomen now stand at 2-3 overall, having yet to play a conference game. With nationally ranked opponents and a potential record breaking player, the next few weeks will be an exciting time for soccer fans.