By Sara Lamb Contributing Writer
UMF Men’s and Women’s soccer teams gear up for the opportunity to compete against other schools and work on their skills during the offseason.
“A playday is basically the culmination of our spring season,” said Tristan Price, a junior who plays on the Men’s team. “The result doesn’t count for anything but how you play can tell you a lot about what you need to work on in the summer.” Most collegiate soccer teams participate in a spring season where they get together once again, workout, and practice for the regular season in the Fall.
This is the Men’s first spring season with a new head coach. “Coach Kronewetter has brought a different style of play,” said Price. “He has really emphasized being structured defensively.”
With the help of the new coach, the team was more successful in their defensive effort this season as compared to previous ones, and they were able to better compete with the teams in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC).
The Men’s and Women’s team each have around 12 members who are able to participate in the spring season. Others are either injured or involved in another spring sport. Both teams are looking to get stronger with team workouts made by the athletic trainers on campus, and by playing Futsal, a small scale modified version of soccer.
Lydia Roy, a junior soccer player, said, “I think we are looking to be in a very good position.” Roy spoke about the teams regular season goals in an email interview and said, “Overall, it looks like we have pretty good chance at competing for the NAC Championship.”
The Women’s head coach, Molly Wilkie, who has been coaching here for 10 seasons, pushes her team to be the best. “Our coach pushes us to be accountable and to do the hard work on our own time. It pushes us to be better players as well as better individuals,” Roy said.
This year the Women’s playday will be held on Saturday, April 21 at St. Joseph’s college in Standish, where they play four 45 minute games against Husson, Saint Joe’s, UNE, and Thomas. The Men’s team will play at the University of Southern Maine in Portland on Sunday April 29.