Augie Women’s Soccer defeats USF with 4-0 win
SHAUNA PAULI
sdpauli16@ole.augie.edu
Augustana Women’s Soccer triumphed with a 4-0 win over the University of Sioux Falls Cougars last Sunday, Sept. 16 at Morstad Field in Sioux Falls.
The Vikings are now 3-0 in the NSIC, and their only loss so far has been against the No. 1 team in the region, the University of Central Missouri Jennies, who are not in the NSIC.
Although this was the team’s first big win, the athletes are making sure to not become overconfident.
“We were hoping for [it], but we always try to go into games not expecting it to be easy,” senior forward Julie Plonsky said. “We know it’s always gonna be challenging for whoever we play.”
Plonsky said the team has been trying to change its usual 1-0 win and not go into overtime as much.
Junior forward Claire Dahm said, “We usually start off a little slow, but this year we’ve started off with a lot of wins, so that’s good.”
Freshman midfielder Alexis Legg scored two goals assisted by Carlie Kray and Katie Ortgies, bringing her total up to seven so far this season.
“We have two really amazing center backs who are just a core component [to the team] and are really hard to get by and they push me every day in practice to get better,” Legg said. “In our midfield, they do a great job of finding [the ball] and giving us options for layoffs. They’ve been amazing at running off the ball.”
According to Dahm, the Cougars seemed to be getting tired quickly during the game, unlike the Vikings. “Our fitness was really good,” she said.
Around half of the team was in Sioux Falls over the summer, Dahm said. “We did a lot of running and lifting at six in the morning.”
Dahm said the team has a deep bench and when substitutes come in, there is no reduction in skill level.
Plonsky believes the team meshes well. “We’re a really young team but I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how we’ve come together and I think our chemistry is really good and that’s a strength we have going for us,” she said.
The Vikings have 12 games left before the NSIC conference and will play the University of Mary Marauders this Friday in Bismarck, North Dakota.
The Vikings have a lot of goals for the season, said Plonsky.
“One of our goals is to win regular season conference,” she said. “We hope to beat Mankato, which is our toughest opponent in the conference, and then we’re hoping to do well in the conference tournament. Last year we went to the NCAA’s and we’re hoping to make it again and hopefully make it past the second round.”
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