2008 Woodie Awards
Tourney Time
Pat Anders
Issue date: 11/9/07 Section: Sports
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"Our confidence is high," senior defender Jaclyn Roepke said.
"We set a lot of high standards at the beginning of the season and we've achieved many of our goals. We are looking forward to the rematch with Drake. We came out fired in the first game we played and we're going to come out fired in this game."
After ending the regular season with a win against EIU last week, the Redbirds have had some time off to rest but have not lost focus on the task at hand. It was sometimes common for the 'birds to come out slow in games where they had time off, but with the conference tourney at hand, there will be no room for error.
"We need to be playing at our highest level this weekend," Head Coach Drew Roff said.
"Our whole team is focused and we always stress that we want to be playing our best soccer at all times."
With this time off, the 'birds are about the healthiest they have been all year. The rest has allowed them to slowly bring back players who didn't see as much action during the regular season. This, along with having a large group of seniors, will allow Roff to find the best 11 that work for him.
"We are fortunate to be in a situation where our seniors play a big role," Roff said.
"Who gets more playing time this weekend will depend on how players look. All of them will have time to leave their mark."
Every player on the team will look to leave their mark, especially, the seniors, as they will be playing in their final game(s) this weekend. Senior forward Bethany Russ, just like her teammates, is very excited for the tournament.
"We know we are capable of beating both teams that we might play this weekend," Russ said.
"We are excited to play Drake again, but this time we want to put them away earlier."
In order to do that, the Redbirds have been working and training hard everyday in practice, working on the forwards connecting better with the midfield, and getting communication down. It is the mental part that sophomore midfielder Raquel Rattray says is the most important.
"Keeping ourselves motivated is what we have worked on the most," Rattray said.
"If you're not prepared mentally, you're not prepared at all."
The regular season success has shown that the future looks very bright for the ISU women's soccer program, but it is the immediate future that is the most important. The Redbirds will travel to Evansville this Friday to play a rematch game against Drake in the MVC tournament semifinals.
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