SE: K-State Soccer Takes on No. 9 West Virginia with Focus on Staying Together
Sep 28, 2017 | Soccer, Sports Extra
From top to bottom, head coach to players, one word was repeated as a key for K-State soccer's Big 12 home opener on Friday against No. 9 West Virginia: Together.
The Wildcats know they will need to be together in every way in the program's first Big 12 home match. K-State faces a top-tier program in West Virginia (8-3-0, 1-1-0), the defending conference champions and last season's national runner-up.
"It's one of those games that we're going to have to really focus together, defend together, organize together and attack together," head coach Mike Dibbini said of Friday's match, which will start at 7 p.m., at the K-State Soccer Complex. "West Virginia is the defending Big 12 champs and they're national runner-up, so we have our hands full but I can tell you we'll come out and compete."
"We need to be more together as a team, with everybody on the same page," K-State sophomore forward Katie Cramer added. "Everybody needs to stay positive and act as a family, honestly, and be there for each other in every aspect."
K-State (5-5-1, 0-2-0) got its first real taste of Big 12 action last weekend, and showed significant improvement between a pair of road matches.
After a 3-1 loss at Texas Tech, coming off its fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season, K-State battled TCU, which also made the NCAA Tournament in 2016, to a 1-0 loss.
"We made some adjustments that helped us defensively. Had we made those adjustments early on at Texas Tech, it could have probably been a better game," Dibbini said. "We had chances (against TCU), not really good looks on the goal, but chances of creeping up the field as the game kept going. We're hoping we can keep building off creeping up the field a little bit more against a team that brings a lot of pressure to us.
"It's just about gaining experience and getting better with that experience is the mindset right now."
Cramer said last weekend served as a solid gauge for what's to come the rest of the season.
"I think we learned how physical the game is going to be and how fast the game is going to be," said Cramer, who dished to Ashley Zane for K-State's first Big 12 goal.
In its first Big 12 season and second overall, K-State will face well-established programs the rest of the way. Every other Big 12 school started its women's soccer program by at least 1996, before most of K-State's players were even born.
Because of the Wildcats' relative inexperience, they will bring a more defensive approach to most of their conference battles and look to take advantage of counter-attack opportunities.
West Virginia, led by a pair of 2017 Preseason All-Big 12 forwards in Michaela Abam and Sh'Nia Gordon who have a combined 16 points this season, will be a good test of the Wildcats' improvement.
"It's going to be a defensive battle for us. Realistically, the pressure is on them. They're going to play desperate offense because we're going to have to stay organized defensively and look to counter," Dibbini said. "We just have to get better at it and, obviously, win the first ball, win the second ball. And can we time our runs and time our offensive counterattacks?"
Dibbini said his team's preparation for West Virginia, K-State's only match this weekend, centered largely on creating as much live action for its defense as possible.
"We're just trying to put them in as close as we can to live action, realistic play, of denying services, number one. And if the services come in, winning that first ball and then not just ball watching but making sure that our second ball is also won and then figuring out a way to play out of it," he said. "If we concentrate on those things, we give ourselves a chance to stay competitive."
The Wildcats will also have the benefit of playing in front of what has already become one of the best home crowds in the nation. Through four home matches this season, K-State ranks seventh in the nation and first in the Big 12 for average attendance (1,640).
"We've been talking about it for so long and now it's finally here. We're really excited for that," Cramer said. "It's a lot of pressure, but the pressure is on them. So I think it's going to be fun, it's going to be competitive and we're going to be excited."
The match, which will be streamed on ESPN3 and available on 101.5 KROCK in Manhattan and kstatesports.com, is part of a "Wildcat Weekend" as fans can purchase a standing room only ticket for only $3.
The Wildcats know they will need to be together in every way in the program's first Big 12 home match. K-State faces a top-tier program in West Virginia (8-3-0, 1-1-0), the defending conference champions and last season's national runner-up.
"It's one of those games that we're going to have to really focus together, defend together, organize together and attack together," head coach Mike Dibbini said of Friday's match, which will start at 7 p.m., at the K-State Soccer Complex. "West Virginia is the defending Big 12 champs and they're national runner-up, so we have our hands full but I can tell you we'll come out and compete."
"We need to be more together as a team, with everybody on the same page," K-State sophomore forward Katie Cramer added. "Everybody needs to stay positive and act as a family, honestly, and be there for each other in every aspect."
K-State (5-5-1, 0-2-0) got its first real taste of Big 12 action last weekend, and showed significant improvement between a pair of road matches.
After a 3-1 loss at Texas Tech, coming off its fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season, K-State battled TCU, which also made the NCAA Tournament in 2016, to a 1-0 loss.
"We made some adjustments that helped us defensively. Had we made those adjustments early on at Texas Tech, it could have probably been a better game," Dibbini said. "We had chances (against TCU), not really good looks on the goal, but chances of creeping up the field as the game kept going. We're hoping we can keep building off creeping up the field a little bit more against a team that brings a lot of pressure to us.
"It's just about gaining experience and getting better with that experience is the mindset right now."
Cramer said last weekend served as a solid gauge for what's to come the rest of the season.
"I think we learned how physical the game is going to be and how fast the game is going to be," said Cramer, who dished to Ashley Zane for K-State's first Big 12 goal.
In its first Big 12 season and second overall, K-State will face well-established programs the rest of the way. Every other Big 12 school started its women's soccer program by at least 1996, before most of K-State's players were even born.
Because of the Wildcats' relative inexperience, they will bring a more defensive approach to most of their conference battles and look to take advantage of counter-attack opportunities.
West Virginia, led by a pair of 2017 Preseason All-Big 12 forwards in Michaela Abam and Sh'Nia Gordon who have a combined 16 points this season, will be a good test of the Wildcats' improvement.
"It's going to be a defensive battle for us. Realistically, the pressure is on them. They're going to play desperate offense because we're going to have to stay organized defensively and look to counter," Dibbini said. "We just have to get better at it and, obviously, win the first ball, win the second ball. And can we time our runs and time our offensive counterattacks?"
Dibbini said his team's preparation for West Virginia, K-State's only match this weekend, centered largely on creating as much live action for its defense as possible.
"We're just trying to put them in as close as we can to live action, realistic play, of denying services, number one. And if the services come in, winning that first ball and then not just ball watching but making sure that our second ball is also won and then figuring out a way to play out of it," he said. "If we concentrate on those things, we give ourselves a chance to stay competitive."
The Wildcats will also have the benefit of playing in front of what has already become one of the best home crowds in the nation. Through four home matches this season, K-State ranks seventh in the nation and first in the Big 12 for average attendance (1,640).
"We've been talking about it for so long and now it's finally here. We're really excited for that," Cramer said. "It's a lot of pressure, but the pressure is on them. So I think it's going to be fun, it's going to be competitive and we're going to be excited."
The match, which will be streamed on ESPN3 and available on 101.5 KROCK in Manhattan and kstatesports.com, is part of a "Wildcat Weekend" as fans can purchase a standing room only ticket for only $3.
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