Despite an 0-2 start and an inexperienced roster, DePauw women's soccer still has high hopes for the 2013-14 season.
The Tigers suffered a 1-4 loss to Milwaukee School of Engineering last Friday, their first game of the season. Two days later, the Tigers lost to Adrian College in a 0-1 nail biter.
In both games, more than half the Tigers' starting line up were first-year players at DePauw. Three of the first-year players played mid-field, including Caroline Zadina, a sophomore transfer from Saint Louis University. First-years Alison Singer and Lauren Saint played the defensive back.
The Tigers inexperience was one of the reasons for their defensive lapses in the season opener against Milwaukee School of Engineering, where they gave up four goals in less than 15 minutes.
Saint noted the challenges of playing with such a young team.
"The other first-year starters [and I] need more guidance and direction on the field because we are younger and more inexperienced," Saint said. "This puts more pressure on all of us, especially the older girls, to communicate even more on the field and talk to our teammates at all times. This extra communication will only make us more successful during games."
Another reason for the slow start, Assistant Coach Megan McCormick admits, is the coaching staff's up-tempo style of play.
"Part of the struggle was the defensive and offensive style we play. There's a lot of moving parts," McCormick said. "We're asking these players to play in roles that they haven't previously. That fourteen minutes, we got caught off guard by the first goal. We weren't able to dig deep enough to find a response."
McCormick, once the head coach of Carmel United Soccer Club, spoke with confidence about the team's near future. Both McCormick and Head Coach John Carter were pleased with how their team responded in their game against Adrian.
"At Adrian, we dominated. We outplayed. We had more chances. We just didn't put any in the back of the net," Carter said of the 0-1 loss.
The Tigers increased the intensity on the offensive front, finishing with 12 shots for the contest. Adrian College had six shots, with Adrian freshman midfielder Erin Weide's being the only goal of the game.
"They say Rome wasn't built in a day. A team isn't built in a day either," Carter said. "That being said, the potential of the team is really high. There were moments in the game this weekend that were brilliant. It shows the level of soccer that we can play."
Carter, who has a 61 winning percentage as head coach of the Tigers, insists there is no reason to panic this early in the season. In 2012, the Tigers did not win a game until Sept. 22, eight games into the season.
Still, they managed to capture a North Coast Athletic Conference women's soccer tournament title, which earned them a trip to the NCAA Championship Tournament. After an 0-7 start, the Tigers ended their season at 7-11-1.
McCormick expects even better results from this year's young team.
"We'll like to walk away with a conference tournament title, and make it past the first [round]," McCormick said. "We had the ability to do it last year. There were obstacles we weren't able to overcome last year. But I am confident in our team."
The Tigers face a challenge this upcoming weekend. They are off to St. Louis, Mo., where they will play at Washington-St.Louis University on Saturday. They return to action less than 24 hours later, in a 2 p.m. matchup at Webster University.
Saint is looking forward to the weekend double-header.
"I know that if we continue to play as a team and go into games with an optimistic attitude, we could easily come out of this weekend with two wins."