As fall sports get under way, there is excitement within the Harding soccer program like never before.
Despite the departure of three all-conference seniors, the Lady Bisons return the majority of a squad that played for the Great American Conference title last fall for only the second time in program history. According to head coach Greg Harris, last year’s title game run was both a building block for this season and a source of motivation.
“These girls have tasted what it’s like now, and they want to get back there,” Harris said. “That should be one of the things that drives us, because now there is a target; people are coming after us and they want to be where we were.”
The Lady Bisons are led by captains senior Anne Fitzgerald, junior Melissa Minnich and junior Audrey Adkison, and will also look to junior forward Larkin Hatcher and junior midfielder Ellie Buttram to help shoulder the load offensively. For Fitzgerald, her final season brings one last chance for an elusive conference title, and said she feels the team is well equipped to challenge for it again.
“The key to any team’s success is chemistry, attitude, believing in your teammates and the drive to win,” Fitzgerald said. “Talent is always a good ingredient, but if a team does not have chemistry and desire, it will fail. I feel like we had that last year and are carrying it forward to this year since a majority of the girls are returning. Making it to the GAC title game last year has given us a lot of confidence to carry forward into this year and I look for great things from this team.”
On the flip side, the men’s team returns nearly all of its starters from a squad that included 13 new players, and they look to have a winning record for the first time in program history. After struggling through a transition year last season, head coach Odie Guzman explained that with all of the young talent the Bisons have returning, he believes this is the year they can break through.
“Our main goal and objective this year is to finally have a winning record,” Guzman said. “I ended up bringing in 13 players last year as freshmen to try and change the dynamic here by adding more technical players — players that know the positions well and play possession. That group of players have improved dramatically since last year, so this year we definitely have a lot of experience. I think this is definitely going to be the year (we have a winning record). We have talent all over the field and we have depth.”
The Bisons will be led offensively by sophomore Barry Foster and leading returning goal scorer senior Ian Park. The team looks to have a solid midfield with the return of junior Josiah Ireland, sophomore Jackson Buchanan and senior Jacob Stevens. Senior forward Cole Walker will also be in the scoring mix and said he felt strongly that this year’s team could be one of the best in program history and could compete for a spot in the conference tournament.
“We have a lot of talent coming into this year,” Walker said. “We are returning our starting lineup from last year and are excited to see what we can do with this year’s squad. We really feel like this is our year to make a push for both our first winning record and a first-time appearance in the tournament. To us, those seem like reachable goals as long as we continue to work hard and focus.”
The Bisons play their first home game on Sept. 9 against Ouachita Baptist Univerristy, while the Lady Bisons play thier first home game Sept. 4 against Missouri Western State.
