The UW-Whitewater women’s soccer team played a tough match under the lights Wednesday night against Loras College. Loras is the fourth ranked DIII soccer team in the country. Although it was a hard-fought match, the Warhawks fell short of a win, with the score being 4-0. It has been a tough start to the season, but they head into their next few games with their focus on improving and keeping a positive mindset.
“I love the fact that we don’t have a ton of time to dwell on this. We’ve got to switch gears and get ourselves ready to be able to play Friday. The biggest thing is the mentality of making sure that we keep a positive mindset and keep working towards the things that we know we need to do,” head coach Dan Montanye said.
Despite the loss, the Warhawks defense demonstrated remarkable resilience. Even though most of the ball movement occurred in Whitewater’s half, the defense held strong. As the game progressed, the Warhawks defense faced constant pressure but maintained their focus and stayed positive.
“It’s important to get them to understand that this is the start of the season,” Montanye said. “We’re playing the top teams in the country, and even though these results haven’t gone our way, the team that we have is more capable of winning a lot of games this year. We’ve got to keep our heads held high and keep working on the things we know need work.”
Although the team knew Loras had great skill, the Warhawks never doubted their team’s ability. Senior midfielder Megan Howard exhibited not only her control with her ball skills, but also showed tremendous leadership when the team faced its hardest moments. With her mind set on winning, Howard plays a crucial role in motivating the team.
“[Our mindset is] strictly to win,” Howard said. “We knew it was going to be heavy competition but we also knew our worth. We went into it with a strong mindset. It’s just the little things that we have to fix.”
Whitewater capped off the week with a Friday night VICTORY/LOSS in their contest with Milwaukee School of Engineering, X-X.
The Warhawks look to continue their season with resilience and determination. Their next game is Wednesday, Sept. 13 at Luther College. With the skills of the team, Montanye said he is confident they can keep getting better.