Orediggers Earn Early Season Redemption

After a disappointing loss to Dallas Baptist University during the NCAA semi-finals last year, the Mines’ Women’s Soccer team was out for vengeance. On Friday, September 2, they got the revenge they wanted.

“We lost to [Dallas Baptist University] 2-0 last year [in the regular season], and we faced them again in the NCAA playoffs,” said sophomore center defender Emily Townsend. “Coming into the game this year we wanted to tell them what’s going on and who’s going to be the winners. As soon as the first goal went in the energy just went through the roof. Scoring five goals was just the icing on the cake.”

There was a lot of icing on that cake, as the Orediggers had five different players put away a goal apiece, while shutting out Dallas Baptist. Cari Smith, Emily Townsend, Giselle Sawaged, Nicole LaTourette, and Jennifer Kendall were terrorizing the Dallas Baptist defense, particularly Townsend, who scored her goal off of a corner kick that she headed in.

The very next day, the Orediggers shut down West Texas A&M with a 2-0 victory. This successful weekend was despite a rather tumultuous preseason for the women.

“Normally we dominate during preseason. This year we didn’t lose a lot, but we weren’t winning how we are used to,” shared sophomore midfielder Peyton Sanders, who played for 60 minutes in the game against Dallas Baptist. “That definitely opened up our eyes to what we need to work on.” The women worked hard to improve upon the weak spots they showed during preseason, with a focus on getting everyone situated in their respective positions and overall recovery.

“Coach changed fitness testing and tapering, to prevent more injuries because he recognized that people were getting burnt out,” Sanders said. This move was made to counter weaknesses on the team last season, when multiple key players were injured during the play-offs. “We have Fitbits, we wear them at night to get resting heart rate, so that way people can take it easier when they are getting burnt out,” Sanders explained. “It definitely showed this weekend what we improved on.”

“Beating DBU was a big boost in confidence, and shows us what we can do if we keep working hard and getting everyone new incorporated into the team,” sophomore midfielder Acacia Ortiz confided. Ortiz played for over 60 minutes in the game against Dallas Baptist. “We are hoping to apply what happened at DBU to all games, we hope to carry lots of energy [without getting burnt out]. We want to come out ready to go but still composed.”

“We are getting into the swing of things,” commented Townsend. “[We will] let people know who we are and what we want to do. One game at a time.”

“We are training hard and we are looking forward to a great season,” Sanders shared.

Ortiz finished on the same note, saying, “We are super excited for this season, we want to come out every game playing as if it was our last game, playing with a lot of passion.”

Be sure to come check out the Women’s Soccer team as they continue to steamroll the competition. They next play at home on Friday, September 17 and Sunday, September 18, both at Stermole Stadium.