By Leanne Vastbinder, Opinions and Online Editor
The women’s soccer team is coming off a win Sunday against Missouri Southern with a final score of 4-3.
The lady Jets are more than halfway through their season, with only six games remaining. The team holds a record of six wins, three losses, and three ties. The Jets are competing to finish in the top eight teams in the MIAA conference by the end of the season to qualify for the tournament in November.
Junior Kyra Butler said the new conference has posed new challenges, but she’s still confident in the team’s abilities to compete with the top teams in the conference.
“I’m looking forward to growing as a team and getting better every game, and hopefully going far into the conference tournament. We can still compete with the top teams. It is a building year but we still have chances for great success,” Butler said.
Head coach Aaron Avila said the season so far has produced mixed results.
“Every game is kind of an unknown with players still developing. We’ve had a hard time finding consistency from game to game,” Avila said.
Butler said the team is rebuilding after losing 11 seniors, eight of whom were on the starting squad.
“Last year we had the experience,” Butler said, “but one of the big things we’ve tried to get better at this year is being able to hold each other accountable. I think that’s helped a lot in our gameplay now.”
With new freshmen on the starting lineup, Avila said he’s never quite sure what’s going to happen.
“It’s like a learning process every single game. A lot of these teams we’ve never played before so we don’t really know what to expect,” Avila said.
Regardless of the challenges, Avila said, the team is still performing well.
“We are still in a good position to finish top four in the conference,” Avila said.
The Jets will face Washburn at 6 p.m. Friday at Yager Stadium in Topeka.
PHOTO: Courtesy Photo. Newman Athletics.
