UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | March 28, 2024

Women’s soccer beats Badgers of Snow College

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The Dixie State University women’s soccer team kicked off the 2016 season with a bang Saturday against Snow College.

The DSU women got up 2-0 in the first half of the scrimmage and held on for a 2-1 win — a successful beginning to the season.

“Our intensity was good,” Head Coach Kasey Bingham said. “I mean this was just a scrimmage, but they were able to treat it like a big time game and bring energy and intensity into it.”

Last season saw the DSU women’s team record 11 wins and have its most successful season since 2010. This year’s team expects to build off that and get even further.

“Something we are focusing on more this year is shut outs,” said senior midfielder Megan Spencer, an exercise science major from Springville. “[We want to] make sure our defense is strong and not let easy goals go in. On the flip side, [our goal] is to have really intense offense. We want to play for 90 minutes and not let down.”

Consistency was not a staple last year. It was a season which saw streaks of multiple wins and losses in succession.

“There is a lot to learn from last season,” said junior forward Darian McCloy, a nursing major from Herriman. “We were successful, but we’re looking to go forward. I think what can make us unique and special is that we’re coming from the middle of the pack, and we’re coming for that PacWest championship.”

This year’s team has its eyes on something it has never won — the PacWest championship.

“To win the conference, you almost have to be perfect,” Bingham said. “Every game has to be a big time playoff game. So the mentality, execution and performance have to be in every game.”

Improving upon last year could prove to be a tough task, so the women decided to put more effort into the off-season in hopes of achieving even greater heights in 2016.

“This year, we came out earlier than we ever have as a team,” said Spencer. “We came out to work hard and I think it is really showing right now.”

Going into training as early as July is something that Bingham said “shows that they are all personally motivated.”

McCloy said that since last season ended, “our whole mentality has been to be [2016] PacWest champs.”

With some momentum from last season’s campaign, and an even more motivated summer than usual following it, a championship may just be within grasp.

The DSU women’s soccer team opens regular season play Thursday at Concordia University.