Business as usual as soccer prepares for a postseason run

The Minnesota State women’s soccer team was back in the Maverick All Sports Dome for the second time this season due to weather conditions, and this time they took on the University of Sioux Falls. 

The Mavericks got back to winning ways with a 3-0 over the Cougars.

The Mavs pounced early and got a two-goal lead in the first eight minutes. Avery Korsching scored in the second minute for her sixth goal of the season. Anna Van Wyngarden then scored in the eighth minute,  her third of the season. 

The quick start was something the team was aiming for heading into their matchup with the Cougars, coach Brian Bahl said. 

“That was a big point of emphasis for us coming into the game. We needed to be able to jump on an opponent early and not let an opponent hang around where we’re in these 0-0 games late and you run the risk of a tie or even a loss. So getting the first one and then being able to back that up early with the second one was really big,” head coach Brian Bahl said. 

Not being satisfied and continuing to be hungry is something that Bahl wants to see from his team no matter the score. 

“I think we were hungry early on. We need to continue to work to not be satisfied with whether it’s one, whether it’s two, whether it’s three, just changing our mentality and not letting ourselves drop off at any point,” Bahl said. 

In the 62nd minute Ashlyn Watt buried it home after receiving a pass from Kelsey Heller and gave the Mavs their third goal. 

“Third goal is huge. I mean you’re sitting at a 2-0 lead and an opponent gets one on you, all a sudden you got a tricky situation. So being able to get a third one gives you a little breathing room, and lets you do some things and not have to worry so much about a foul that leads to a set piece goal and now they’re right back in it. So getting that separation, really important,” Bahl said.

Despite the win, Bahl felt his team could have done things better after their fast start. 

“We talked about the need to have the ball in order to be able to go score, and I think we rushed a lot and gave the ball away. Because of that, the game became a little bit open ended and we were having to defend a lot more on our defensive half than we would have liked,” Bahl said. “If we’d been able to just connect a little bit more, be a little more patient with what we were doing, I think we would have been on the ball more and created more chances. First half, that first 15-20, I thought we were really good at that, the rest of the game we left a little to be desired in that aspect,” Bahl said. 

Header Photo: The Minnesota State women’s soccer team also won a 1-0 match against Wayne State on October 15. It was also Parents Day for the Mavs. (Dalton Grubb/The Reporter)

Write to Mohamed Warsame at mohamed.warsame@mnsu.edu