After defeating Duke 3-0 last weekend, the NC State women’s club soccer team plans to finish out its season with a bang at the club program’s home tournament, the Wolfpack Soccer Club Classic.
The tournament will feature teams from all over the East Coast, with eight women’s teams and 12 men’s teams squaring off at NC State this weekend.
With the extreme weather conditions Raleigh has witnessed this semester, the team has only been able to have a couple of games prior to its home tournament, many canceled because of snow and ice storms.
After this weekend, the spring season will be officially over and then the team will travel to UNC-Chapel Hill the following weekend for the final tournament of the season.
The weeks leading up to their final tournament the girls have a goal of improving scoring during games by developing better attacking patterns.
“We are definitely more of a possession and passing team,” junior captain and central midfielder Penlyn Crawford said. “We may lack somewhat in our attack, which is one of our challenges.”
As one of two team captains, Crawford has shouldered responsibility of leading the team. The junior has been playing club soccer since her second semester freshman year and has been a captain since last fall.
Although the players are working on improving their technique, they already have a strong foundation: the relationships they have built with one another that make practice and games enjoyable.
“We have really good camaraderie, and because of it we are able read each other really well while we’re playing” freshman forward and attacking midfielder Millicent Blivin said. “We know what each of us is good at on the field.”
Although soccer is a well-known sport, it is different from other club sports because of the teamwork involved and the fluid motion of a full game.
“You don’t have as much pressure individually to score and it’s more of a team game,” Blivin said. “You can also be pretty creative in what you do on the field. It’s not just running plays like some sports are.”
While soccer’s fluidity makes it pleasing to the eye, its aesthetic quality doesn’t mean it’s not as tough as other sports.
“You get a lot of head injuries, but it’s all worth it in the end,” Crawford said.
Those with a passion for soccer, competition and friendship are all welcome to try out for the team. The team holds tryouts at the beginning of each semester, which are structured over a three-day period.
They consist of one day of assessing skills and techniques and another day of seeing how well the newer players play with the returning members. The team accepts 25 girls with four or five girls on reserve, whereas in the spring they accept almost everyone who tries out, averaging about 30 girls.
During the spring season, the team practices every Monday and Wednesday evening under the instruction of two co-captains and two coaches. Volunteer coaches Eric Dawe and Amanda Welsh lead the team for the 2014-15 season.
With a bevy of talented players and a strong coaching staff, the Wolfpack club team is ready to challenge for a top spot at its remaining tournaments in the spring season.