With an 0-7 record as of press time, the Lady Bisons soccer team is struggling to make progress on the field this season.
On Thursday, the team faced Ouachita Baptist University for their first Great American Conference game, but results were not available as of press time. On Sept. 30, the team will face Northeastern State University (NSU) in Talequah, Okla.
So far this season, the Lady Bisons have scored a total of three goals in matches, two by junior Audrey Adkison and one by junior Ashley Sampson.
The season has been a struggle for the team as they have tried to get on their feet and win their first match.
“I would say our team’s biggest challenge this year is believing in ourselves,” junior Melissa Minnich said. “A team could have all the talent in the world but if they don’t believe in themselves it’s hard to be successful.”
Last season, the team finished with an 8-9-1 record after losing six of their first eight games.
“Last year started out rough, but when conference came, we believed in ourselves and ended up placing second,” Minnich said. “Our team this year has great potential and I know we can be successful.”
NSU comes into the game with a 3-2 record as of press time, but this does not discourage the team.
“It would be easy to get down, but when you know you have the talent and the attitude to win and it’s just not happening yet, you have to pull together and play as a team and know that it will get better and the wins will come,” sophomore Anna-Grace Kirkman said. “It would be easy to get down on each other, but we are a tight team and focused and we will trust (head) coach (Greg) Harris.”
According to Harding Sports, the Lady Bisons are averaging 11.7 shots per game and junior midfielder Adair Schmidt has 13 shots this season.
Despite the string of losses, the team is determined to make a comeback and confident that they can.
“We will turn this around,” Kirkman said.