University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagle Soccer Faces Louisiana Tech in Weekend Preseason Match
8/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 24, 2007
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss women's soccer team is scheduled to face Louisiana Tech in a preseason match on Saturday, Aug. 25, beginning at 2 p.m. at the Southern Miss Soccer Complex.
The Lady Eagles are heading into the 2007 year, looking to improve on last season's 4-9-1 record by changing one thing - team mentality. With five one-goal losses in 2006, Head Coach Gail Macklin is determined to establish a winning mentality among the players to give them the edge needed to surpass others.
"I think that their mentality now is more about winning," Macklin said. "It's always been about winning, but we mostly concentrated on playing nice and attractive soccer. This team needs to continue to play within the bounds of good soccer, but they also need to know that when it comes down to getting a win, it can get more physical. When that happens, you have to play differently."
This new squad seems to easily have adopted the winning mentality, competing in spring exhibition matches against in-state rival Mississippi State and South Alabama and obtaining positive results.
"We went unbeaten in the spring," Macklin explained. "It was more laid back and not as competitive as others, but those were good games to win. Not only did we win, but we never conceded a goal. Ending like that gives the girls a lot of confidence, going into the fall."
Exhibition matches and spring practices not only serve as a preview into next season, but they also are used for team conditioning and training.
"It is a time when you get to work on fitness," Macklin said. "It gives us the opportunity to spend time on team shape and give the freshmen a chance to get adjusted to the game at a college level."
Despite graduating six seniors from the 2006 squad, Macklin hopes to bounce back, returning standouts like Sarah McFadden (5-10/Magherafelt, Northern Ireland), Jessica Stephens (5-5/Antrim, Northern Ireland) and Holly Cox (5-4/London, England), as well as seniors Erin Bunyard (5-5/Madison, Ala.), Megan Kolts (5-5/Suwannee, Ga.) and Jackie Ryan (5-8/Snellville, Ga.).
Ten newcomers join the squad in 2007, including Mallory Barnes (5-4/Lafayette, La.), Sarah Brusco (5-4/Dallas, Texas), Anna Fiser (5-7/Jackson, Miss.), Paigelee Hodges (5-8/Hayward, Calif.), Leigh-Ann Levens (5-7/Long Beach, Miss.), Jana Mason (5-5/Tupelo, Miss.), Bianca Ontiveros (5-0/Albuquerque, New Mexico), Samantha Polley (5-10/Louisville, Kent.), Amy Skeet (5-11/Lewisville, Texas) and Keli Theiss (5-6/Springdale, Ark.).
It's only the third recruiting class for Macklin, and the 2007 signing class looks to fill the gaps left from departing seniors Carly Barkley, Sarah Brennan, Andrea Kerkhoff, Melissa Planells, Kimberly Turner and Katie Warmington.
"It's easy to look for good players," Macklin said. "The main thing that we look for is their talent and ability to play different positions. It's a common occurrence in collegiate soccer for player to be brought in to play one position and then end up playing somewhere else. Versatility is a key within this program."
In hopes of bringing the winning mentality to every aspect of the team, Macklin added the characteristic to their recruiting strategy.
"We like to look at recruits who come from a team with a winning mentality, who are used to winning and know how to win," Macklin explained. "That's something that we hope they can bring with them to our program. Character, personality and work ethic also are key elements because players will soon find out that it's not about who the best player is or who is the most skillful. It's about who can work well within the team and win."
The Southern Miss coaching staff predicts a successful season for the Lady Eagles in 2007, due to a mixture of team chemistry, winning mentality and strength in numbers.
"We definitely have strength in numbers and experience this year," Macklin said. "A lot of the teams that beat us by one goal didn't play that great; they knew how to get the results that day. From a coaching standpoint, you can see that comes from experience. With our team chemistry, a lot of things will work themselves out on the field. They look after each other off the field, but when it comes to soccer, they don't have a problem setting standards for each other. That makes a big difference."
Following the weekend's preseason match, the Lady Eagles will open the 2007 season on Aug. 31, participating in LSU's Tiger Invitational.
