Otterbein women’s soccer is off to a 7-3-4 overall and a 2-1-2 conference record through the first half of the season. The upperclassmen still seem to be very excited and goal driven at this point in the season.
The women’s soccer team is currently in a three-way tie for fourth in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) with plenty of the season remaining to fight for a position in the tournament. The leaders on the team analyzed their goals for the season and are striving to find how to achieve them.
Kylie Hast, a junior marketing major, who is a midfielder said there was a lot of confidence coming into the season, and she mentioned that the goal was to make the NCAA tournament.
“We really just need to lean on each other, take in every moment and hold each other accountable," Hast said.
Hast said the feeling of the season at this point was just trying to not get too overconfident, which she believed was the reason for the lost opportunities in the conference, including draws against Wilmington and Baldwin Wallace as well as the tough loss to the Marietta Pioneers.
Lauren Alley, a senior nursing major, who plays midfield for the Cardinals said the goal is still to win the conference and get a berth to the NCAA tournament.
Alley pointed to some of the lack of success coming from the offensive side, “I think this is the worst record that we have had. … I by no means think that this team is worse than any other team that's been here, we just don’t have a goal scorer and we are struggling to do that.”
Otterbein to this point is currently fifth in the conference in goals scored, but in regards to the Cardinals' success defensively, they have let off the second least amount of goals in the OAC.
Midfielder Bailey Zanella, a senior business administration and finance double major said, “We have to focus on putting our foot down and just being full force at achieving those goals.” She mentioned that it is very important to turn the ties and losses into wins, due to the three points received for every win rather than one point received for ties and zero points for losses.
Zanella, a three-time first team All-OAC member, spoke on what she wants to see from herself for the rest of the season.
“I want to walk away from the sport I love knowing I made a big impact on everyone around me and bring hopes of winning a championship," Zanella said.
The Cardinals are coming up on the biggest stretch of the season where they will face top-seeded John Carroll and Ohio Northern, as well as the rivaled Capital Comets. They will finish the season with Heidelberg, which they are tied with in the conference.
Otterbein will begin this stretch at home Wednesday, Oct. 23 against the visiting Polar Bears of Ohio Northern at 7 p.m.
