Cedars, December 2018

December 2018 18 SPORTS by Tim Smith T he Cedarville women’s soccer team finished the season on Oct. 27, los- ing to Walsh University 2-1 in the first round of the G-MAC tournament. The Lady Jackets finished the season 9-8 overall and sixth in the G-MAC. Though not the ex- act outcome coaches and players dreamed of, there were plenty of positive takeaways from 2018. “A lot of good things came this year. A lot of blessings and a lot of victories,” coach Jonathan Meade said. Relationships Greater Than Record From a soccer standpoint, the season was not entirely what the team expected. “When you look in hindsight, this was the best team I have coached here in my three years, from top to bottom. But, from a winning standpoint, it was more challeng- ing this year,” Meade said. But for the players, and for coach Me- ade, this season is defined by more than the record and final outcome. Before the season started, the varsity team had the chance to go on a missions trip to Costa Rica. “We started out with a missions trip to Costa Rica, and that really set the stage for the season from a relationship stand- point,” Meade said. “It helped us zero in on our purpose, why we play, and things like that. It was a great way to start the season.” Freshman forward Olivia Hoffman was one of the players who was able to partake in the trip, and she believes it strengthened the team in more than just soccer. “We came in from our mission trip with a lot of focus on why we were playing. It’s not necessarily to always win, but to show our faith in how we play and our lives off the field,” Hoffman said. Positive Takeaways from the Pitch While the Costa Rica trip was an em- powering experience, there were many pos- itive takeaways from the soccer pitch this season as well. “We had a great group of seniors this year, and they have left an invaluable legacy for the returners to follow and emulate to teach the next crop of players coming in,” Meade said. “We also, though, have a large group coming back. We had some injuries to some very talented freshman and they didn’t get to play for us this year. It will be great to get those players back and to get them playing.” Experience is a vital trait on the soc- cer field, and it is something that can’t be taught. Meade knows this, and sees this as- pect of the team creating a successful fu- ture. “There are a lot of positives going forward, a lot of returning players with experience. Next season, as we continue to grow, has the potential to be a better season.” Improvements Needed to Succeed While there are positives, there’s still weaknesses to work through. For the Lady Jackets, that comes in the form of scoring goals. “Our biggest thing this year was that we didn’t score enough. We need to score more goals, find more ways to score goals, just put the ball in the back of the net,” said Meade. The Lady Jackets sure had the oppor- tunities to score. This season, they had 240 shots, compared to 150 shots from their op- ponents. But, the problem lies in the team’s goal percentage. The Lady Jackets had a goal percentage of 0.121, while their opponents garnered a percentage of 0.147. An increase in this per- centage could lead to a much more success- ful season moving forward. Big Aspirations for Next Year The Lady Jackets have more than enough time to prepare for next season, and they have NCAA Tournament aspirations for 2019. “We would love to get past the first round of the tournament. We haven’t done that in awhile, and that is something we would love to accomplish. We want to win the G-MAC, and you can’t do much better than that,” Hoffman said. But, those goals won’t be easy to come by. Meade knows it will take a lot of hard work and determination this offseason to achieve these aspirations. “We will start lifting in the winter, im- proving our technique, and having players hone in their individual skills for next sea- son.” Tim Smith is a freshman journalism major and staff writer for Cedars. He loves foot- ball, 3 Musketeers candy, and primarily speaking in movie quotes. Relationships, Not Record, Define Lady Jackets’ Soccer Season Photo by Scott Huck Despite various struggles in the season, the Lady Jackets grew together as a team and finished with a 9-8 record.