Fresh off a strong 2016 season, the Shippensburg University women’s soccer team has more left to prove.
After falling just short of a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoff seed after the team’s final game last season, head coach Rob Fulton is doing the right things throughout training camp to take that next step.
“[We want] to improve defensively as far as conceding goals,” Fulton said. “Hopefully we can play well enough and consistently enough to where we’ll be comfortable and where we want to be.”
The Raiders have taken a deeper look into the statistics during this year’s training camp to figure out things to tweak and improve upon.
Rather than focus on an overall goal for the season, the players are first looking to tackle the obstacles directly in front of them. “[We’re] focusing on what to do that’s just right ahead of you rather than the end game,” team captain Kat Hartner said.
As the team begins to shape up for the coming season, coach Fulton feels that his team’s strongest asset is not any one player, but the team as a unit.
“One thing we do have as a team is good depth at every position,” Fulton said.
Depth will be important in carrying this Raider squad, a team that has now won 10 games in back-to-back seasons, into the playoffs once again.
With the PSAC being so tightly contested year after year, finding ways to win one-goal games will play a major part in lifting the Raiders to a Top-8 seed.
“You have to figure out how to be on the right side of those 1-0, 2-1 games,” Fulton said. “So many of the results will be tight.”
The parity of the PSAC is apparent, and the Raiders know that the top seeded team could fall to anyone in the playoff hunt.
“Every year is a new chance to prove yourself,” Hartner said. “We can learn from last season but this is a new season, it’s a new group of girls, it’s a new team, so we’re excited to be able to prove that we can do it this year.”
As the team becomes a cohesive group, the players have reason to be confident heading into the new season.
“We’re coming together well and we know what we need to work on come our home opener,” Hartner said. “It’s super promising for what’s to come.”
With the end of preseason right around the corner, Shippensburg has to come out of the gates ready for the challenge to compete in the PSAC.
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