Preliminary struggles

Following an offseason in which the women’s soccer team lost their head coach and overturned their roster, expectations were slim.

After being defeated at the hands of national powerhouses USC and UCLA, the Vikings earned their first victory of the season on the road against Nevada, 2-1 on Sept. 7.

In head coach Laura Schott’s first year at the helm, the team has stumbled out of the gates to a 1-5 record after being selected to finish sixth in the Big Sky Conference preseason polls.

Despite the struggles early on, Schott is not letting the slow start deter her from her ultimate goal: creating an identity for the program.

“I want to generate some excitement around the team,” Schott says. “I want to build a family by reaching out and getting alumni back in the picture, by letting the women know there is a history to the program, that a community does exist.”

Schott is taking over the head coaching duties this year after the departure of Tim Bennett, who resigned to take an assistant coaching position at Iowa State after leading the Vikings to a 9-9-2 record last season, and she is no stranger to strong soccer communities.

Prior to joining PSU’s coaching staff as an assistant for the 2005 season, Schott was a two-time All-American at the University of California. Following her collegiate career she was a member of the U.S. National team that played in the Algrave Cup in 2001 and earned time in the professional ranks playing for the WUSA’s Washington Freedom, then the WPSL’s California Storm.

Her extensive playing resume has helped her not get discouraged after a disappointing start to the season, and she said that despite the losses, the team has shown growth and promise.

“This team’s biggest strength is its adaptability,” Schott says. “We have 11 new players this year, and at any one time there might be four or five freshman out on the field. The women are developing the skill to make changes on the fly, and that’s very important.”

With so many young players added to the roster this season, as well as two new assistant coaches, Janine Szpara and Melanie Langley, adaptability is indeed the name of the game.

The new faces on the pitch have joined with a returning core of veterans to provide the stability that has been integral in helping the team keep its composure.

Junior midfielder Nathalie Wollmann and junior goalkeeper Cris Lewis are the co-captains and two of the emotional anchors of the team.

“We are a very close-knit group,” Lewis said. “We mesh really well on and off the field.”

Lewis, the vocal leader of the team, can be heard shouting orders and encouragement from the goalie box where she has recorded 38 saves thus far in the season.

Wollmann and fellow junior midfielder Dolly Enneking are adept at maintaining possession and dictating the tempo of the game. Enneking and junior Kat Robertson both scored goals during the Vikings defeat of Nevada. And sophomore forward Iman Bearde has used her strength and impressive speed to attack the opponent’s net.

While the 1-5 record does not shine a favorable light on the team’s performance thus far, Schott feels that the experience gained in playing against difficult opponents will benefit the Vikings when Big Sky play begins on Oct. 10.

“A number of positives came from the games against USC and UCLA. Those two teams are as good as it gets right now, and now we know we can play at that level,” Schott said.

The Vikings continue to look ahead to the rest of the preseason in which they will take on the likes of Hawaii, Fresno State and Oregon before they look to improve upon last year’s fourth-place finish in the BSC.

While a staunch defense has aided the Vikings thus far, Schott hopes that over the course of the season the offensive output will develop and increase.

“Of course, defense is the basis of every team. But to compete, you have to score goals,” she said.

The players seem to have given a unanimous stamp of approval to Schott’s offensive-minded strategy. “She’s given us the freedom to go forward, to attack,” Wollmann said. “It makes the game a lot more fun to play.”