Womenâ??s soccer continues to move forward

The talented young Varsity Reds women’s soccer team is showing growth and it’s only early.

They opened the season with a 0-0 tie against Mount Allison, followed by a 4-1 loss to Saint Mary’s.

Even with the lopsided loss, Head Coach Andy Cameron sees his team moving in the right direction.

“I think they did everything I asked them to do,” said Cameron. “We increased the percentage of time we were in the offensive third and we decreased the percentage of time in our end.”

He knows the tie against Mount Allison could have easily been a win and believes the Mounties got away with a tie.

“We did take the play to Mt. A for 80 minutes and there was a mental breakdown for the last ten,” said Cameron. “I think Mt. A was pleased getting out of the game with a tie and our players were disappointed in the tie.”

This young team, much like the men’s team, has a rookie keeper holding down the fort. Erica Erman of Moncton may have taken a beating against SMU getting lit up for four goals, but showed she is up to the task of playing at an AUS level.

“You attack with 11, defend with 11. In the last ten minutes of the Saturday game it was a little scary, but to date she has had four solid performances with the exhibition games and is only going to get better,” said Coach Cameron.

He continued by saying it is a team effort and the four goals are no reflection of Erman’s performance.

“I thought we would matchup well with Saint Mary’s, but we got down a goal early on a corner kick,” said Cameron. “We defended poorly on it and we took it to them to the remainder of the first half, but were not able to get back in the game. It just went from bad to worse. We played okay, but just did not get the breaks.”

A positive for the Reds from the weekend was being able to find the back of the net. Second year striker Samantha Legacy scored in the ninetieth minute in Sunday’s match. In the past few seasons the Reds have struggled to find the back of the net, managing only 11 last season, an improvement of 2008’s five goals.

Cameron knows the striker position is always under the magnifying glass, but sees the improvement and expects to see more production up front.

“The issue with strikers is they’re either the hero or the bum,” said Cameron. “It comes down to service. That is the last to come when you’re developing a team. That service in the offensive third is what becomes suspect when goals are hard to come by.”

After two matches the Varsity Reds will have to improve and make some changes if they intend to make the playoffs. The coaching staff believes with a weekend of AUS competition under their belt the team will need to work on their confidence when controlling the play.

“One of the difficulties is the quality of soccer that we play in the summer is not the same intensity as we play in the fall,” said Cameron. “Moving the ball quicker and having the confidence to keep the ball and move it across the field and forward is what we have to work on most. If we can be more confident in our play we will succeed. I believe the skills are there so if we can be more confident on the ball the rest will fall into place.”