By: Will Keyse
With the fall semester in full swing, the Puget Sound men’s and women’s soccer teams have gotten off to strong starts. The men’s team has posted a 5-2 record, including a pair of wins in last weekend’s matches with Whitman College (Walla Walla, WA) and Whitworth University (Spokane, Washington). The women’s team has come out of the gates with a 4-3-1 record, and are currently 2-2 in conference.
With four seniors on the women’s side and eight on the men’s side, each of the teams has a core nucleus of leadership this year that they hope will contribute to successful regular and postseason campaigns. Senior Emily Prasil (Lake Oswego, Oregon), has high praise for her fellow senior players on the women’s team:
“All three of my fellow seniors are great role models and inspirations for our younger players- I’m so appreciative to be playing next to them in this final season. Emmy Owens (Portland, Oregon) is an incredibly versatile and committed athlete, and her presence adds to our confidence on the field. Jacqueline Anderson (Renton, Washington) is an impressive player on the mid-line, and I am appreciative of her offensive leadership. Sierra Scott (Sandpoint, Idaho) has had to overcome consecutive injuries in her career and her perseverance is admirable.”
Stepping into leadership voids can be tough from year to year- but this cohort of veteran players is confident that they can step up and be the glue to a successful team. Sierra Scott weighed in on the seniors making the shift:
“I’m very excited to see the players taking on new roles this season. They have all stepped up and filled important positions and they’re very willing to learn. It’s been great to see how much we have improved over these past few weeks and I know that trend will continue.”
Prasil echoed these sentiments and added that all the pieces are in place for the team to make their mark this season.
“Our team composition is a strong group of individual players coming together to work effectively as a team. I’m most looking forward to those conference games when we really click as a unit; when our hard work in practice rewards us with 90 minutes of really great competitive soccer. And with our committed coaching staff, I believe we have all the pieces necessary to make that our norm.”
For the seniors on the men’s team, this season holds the potential to be the best performance they’ve seen.
“I am most excited about the chance to leave the school with a NWC Championship,” said senior Ari Taublieb (Malibu, California). “I have never been on a team where everyone is this close, and to be able to win it with these guys would be a memory of a lifetime. We discuss within the team how individual statistics aren’t as important as winning, so as long as the team gets the “W” I have done my job.”
“I am very excited about the opportunity to win a conference championship this season,” added senior Nathan Otto (Portland, Oregon). “It is always a goal for our program, and we have been extremely close in my four years, just missing out by a point or two. This year we have a strong group of returners and some very exciting younger players. Our senior class has been extremely tight since the day we arrived on campus just over three years ago, so it is hard to single out any one person. I have a lot of love for all of our class.”
With just over a month left in their seasons, the Logger soccer teams look to make impact felt throughout the Northwest Conference during conference play, and they look to do so with a confident group of seniors at the helm.