Life at Taylor is starting to ramp up, and with that comes the beginning of fall sports.
Many teams have already begun practicing in preparation for their upcoming seasons, one of which is women's soccer, who will have their first game on Sept 16. With all of the uncertainty that surrounds all levels of the sports world right now, the team is excited just to get the season underway.
“Well, I hope to play in a lot of games, and really make it to nationals,” junior Erin Teevans said, “That's our number one goal. So, we can play in the spring and get all of the games we can, because really, we're not guaranteed a lot of games.”
The team keeps a lot of offensive firepower heading into this season with five of last year’s top six scorers returning to the team this year, only one of whom is a senior. Teevans is one of those top scorers, returning to the team after a sophomore campaign where she scored six goals and had a team-high seven assists.
Some other key returners are juniors Linli Tu and Riley Massey, who had six goals and five goals respectively last year.
The area of concern for this team is the goalkeeper position, where they have two freshmen competing for a starting spot.
“Right now it's a little extra tutoring every day and hoping that one or both of them steps up for game day, and can actually play,” Head Coach Scott Stan said about the goalkeeper situation. “But usually you don't want to put a freshman under tremendous amounts of pressure, and the goalkeeper position is a lot of pressure.”
Despite the unique situation, senior Morgan Orme doesn’t seem to be rattled. Orme believes that the situation will create competition between the two freshmen that will benefit both.
The team is on a streak of four straight seasons with 12 or more wins and look to extend that streak this season. Extending that streak is no easy task, as Taylor plays in a tough conference.
Key opponents this season include Spring Arbor, Mount Vernon, and Indiana Wesleyan. Taylor University played all three teams last year and each game finished close.
“Spring Arbor is always a good one. I feel like we're gonna come out on top this year,” Orme said. “(We were) able to tie them last year.”
At the end of the day, the team seems excited to get out there and play together. Both Teevans and Orme mentioned how they are excited to go out on the field with the team and just be able to play soccer.
“I don't think I ever have a bad day when I get to see the ladies because they are encouraging, they're fun, they are Christ-centered and will play for the Lord,” Stan said about coaching the team. “It's always one of those things like you're coaching really great athletes, but they are just fun. And I think for me soccer is a tool that allows us to get to a goal that we want to achieve, and I want them to leave here more confident Christ-centered women and that's what they want and it’s just a great time.”
