Soccer players seeing value in tough early-season schedule

The Manitou Springs girls soccer team is taking a different approach to this season than the Mustangs did last year. This time around, the team is scheduling tough competition early so that a stunning loss to a good team in the playoffs won’t happen again.

The Mustangs (0-1-1) started the season by hosting Middle Park on March 12 and, although they came away with a 2-2 tie, coach Ben Mack was encouraged by what his girls showed.

“We went down 2-1 and fought back,” Mack said. “Then we fought and we pressed and should’ve finished it and won it, but it didn’t work out that way.”

The key part of that is the Mustangs never knew what it was like to play from behind in 2021. They gave up just one goal in the regular season before getting to the playoffs to have Aspen score five.

“We had never been down,” Mack said. “They were out of sorts and they didn’t know how to mentally come back from that.”

That’s why seeing tough opponents early is a big key for the Mustangs development this season. Although it would’ve been nice to start the season with a win, getting the chance to battle back from a deficit is something the Mustangs should benefit from later in the year.

Erica Sherwin and Madrid Mack scored the goals for the Mustangs. The players hope that the more time they spend together on the field, the more they’ll mold themselves into an effective scoring unit.

“We had really good chemistry, we just need to get our defense and offense (on the same page) together,” Sherwin said. “Once we get that chemistry together, we should be able to get up the field and score goals.”

The Mustangs traveled to Jefferson Academy on Tuesday, March 15, and lost 2-0. They’ll be off for spring break before returning to action.