The Women’s Soccer team has been on a hot streak since their opening loss to Cal Lutheran. In the past two away games, the Loggers have outscored their opponents 4-2 and have propelled some young studs into the spotlight. Breakout freshman forward, Robin Vieira (Seattle, Wash.) has been on a scoring rally, “making her mark” in all of the Loggers’ past three games, two of which were game winning shots.
Vieira takes the challenge of being a freshman like a true competitor, “Coming on to an entirely new squad, I got a chance to prove something to myself, my teammates, and my coaches. It was a fresh, new start, and I had nothing to lose. When I began my first game as starter, I wasn’t really scared or nervous, just kind of numb. I guess this worked towards my advantage, because I was able to convert all that extra energy to excitement!”
However, as one might expect her transition from playing soccer at the high school level to the playing at the collegiate level was a tough one, “It’s definitely not easy to transition from high school to college, get good grades, maintain a good social life, stay healthy, and succeed in sports. I’m still facing this challenge, and probably will be for a long while, however, each day I try to learn from my mistakes, and pull it together for a good day. One thing that has helped me is to stay positive about everything! Always look on the bright side, and don’t let yourself get down. When I feel too stressed or busy, I give myself a little break for however long I can afford at that time. Sometimes its five minutes, other times it’s an hour. but it’s important to have down time. Our body is not a machine! We have to nurture it in order to perform and succeed.”
On Saturday the 17th the women’s team was again a dominating force in the conference. In their game against the Willamette Bearcats, the Loggers crushed their competition 4-0. With a leadoff goal by sophomore Hannah Hawkins (Everett, Wash.) in the 21st minute and then an impressive hat-trick performance by senior, Christine Isabella (Salt Lake City, Utah), the Loggers outshot the Bearcats 26-4. In goal the Loggers split time between sophomore, Casey Thayer (Boulder, Colo.) and new comer, sophomore Kara Merfeld (Bellingham, Wash.).
However, a tough loss on Sunday the 18th showed that even the best teams can be beaten. The Linfield Wildcats got the best of the Loggers putting two past Thayer. The Loggers retaliated with senior Mikaela Freeman (Alameda, Calif.) scoring a goal late in the second half, but the Loggers could not overcome the goal deficit. This is the second loss of the season for the Loggers.
Next week the Loggers (3-2-0) take on Whitman (3-3-0) and Whitworth in Eastern Washington (1-3-1).