Changes in play to aid in quest for WAC title
Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.
Making adjustments in the attack, the USU soccer team will implement a new style of play this season, said Head Coach Heather Cairns, now in her fifth season at the helm.
“We’ve changed our attack,” Cairns said. “We’re playing three forwards instead of two. It’s really about getting as many players to step up and fill that role. We’re not going to have one person. We’re going to jump on their back and go with it.”
In the Aggies’ exhibition game against Dixie State on Aug. 18, the soccer team gave a glimpse of the new attack formation, which was led by freshman forward Lauren Hansen. She was joined up top by forwards Kiersten Nilsson and Dana Peart. But, even that performance didn’t truly exhibit the new style of play, as the team had only practiced together three days prior to the game.
Since that game, Cairns said the team has focused in on improving the attack and tactical aspects of the game.
“I think our preseason went very well,” she said. “We had a fairly good fitness base. I think that we’ve been pleased with the tactical knowledge, tactical understanding the girls have been working on. We’re pretty excited. We’ve done some nice things in practice, and we want to see where it compares to other college teams.”
While Cairns wouldn’t go into specifics about the changes, she said one of the major focuses will be on getting more players in a position to score for the team.
Last season the Aggies were led by senior standout Charity Weston, who led the team in scoring with 11 points. Much of the attack last season was based around Weston’s speed and positioning.
Even though the Aggies don’t have Weston again, there are plenty of returning players who contributed to the success of the 10-8-2 season, which tied for the best season record in USU history.
USU returns nine starters and 22 letter-winners from the 2006 squad. Three of the starters, Peart, Shannon Ross and Abby Hunt, are seniors who started all 20 matches last season.
Peart, who is co-captain with Ross and junior defender Alyssa Lowry, led the team in shots on goal last season with 19, scoring three goals and tabbing one assist. Primarily a midfielder last season, Peart occasionally moved into the forward position to aid in a strengthened Aggie attack. This season, Peart is listed as a forward and is a key player in the attack.
“Dana provides that spunk, that ability to turn games,” Cairns said. “Shannon brings a lot of communication, organization and competitiveness. Alyssa provides that spunky feistiness. The common trait in all three of them is bringing out the best in their teammates. They can pull them along.”
One challenge for the Aggies early on will be the absence of two top scorers from last season, sophomore forward Erin Salmon and junior forward Candice Clark, as they recover from knee injuries. Cairns said both players are getting better, but she is not sure when they will be back in action.
On the defensive end, USU returns the strong defensive line that characterized the Aggies’ style of play last season. Sophomore defender Lindsey Smart was named the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Co-Defensive Player of the Year. She scored one goal for the Aggies last season.
After playing every minute of last season between the pipes, junior goalkeeper Ali Griffin will have competition this year in fellow junior goaltender Lisa Willardson, who played the first half of USU’s exhibition game. She snagged two saves before bowing out at the half when Griffin took over, making three saves.
Griffin holds a career goals against average of 0.83 and has played more than 1,000 minutes for the Aggies. But this year she has to compete for her chance to defend the net and “it’s up to them and how the trainings go,” Cairns said.
“They’re competing for one spot,” she said. “I don’t go into a season saying we have to use two goalkeepers or we have to use one goalkeeper. It’s strictly based on the performance of the players day in and day out.”
But even with a large returning cast, the Aggies have yet to prove themselves on the field.
Like last season, USU faces a road-heavy schedule early in the season, including four teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last season. The Aggies also play four teams this season that are currently ranked in Soccer Buzz Magazine’s Top 30.
Cairns said she plans a tough season early on so her team is prepared to face the physicality and competition of WAC teams later on.
“Our nonconference teams aren’t going to be the bottom teams in Division I soccer,” Cairns said. “That is the way we get confident in WAC play.”
Following last season’s performance where the Aggies placed second in the WAC season standings, USU is ranked third in the preseason polls.
“The preseason polls are really an opinion and it doesn’t really matter where you start, it’s where you finish,” Cairns said. “While it’s great that we moved up, it’s really about proving it every day again. Nobody’s going to care that we were ranked third when they play us.”
The Aggies start their season on the road against Texas State on at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31, and continue action against Texas Christian University at noon on Sunday, Sept. 2.
-seth.h@aggiemail.usu.edu