What’s the famous clich? Defense wins championships.
Well, a good offense never hurt, either.
For the 2003 Lady Bulldog soccer team, consistent goal scoring was difficult to come by.
Last season the Bulldogs ranked 11th in both goals scored (24) and goals per game (1.20) in the Southeastern Conference. State exceeded three goals in only two games during the course of the 2003 season.
“We struggled to score goals last year, and that is something we are really working on in practice,” head coach Neil MacDonald said.
To rectify this problem from a year ago, the Bulldogs work daily on offensive drills that are designed to increase team goal scoring.
“Last year when we worked on our offensive patterns we did it with the offense working separately from the defense,” sophomore Heidi Ondra said. “This year we are including the whole team so the defense works with the offense so they know where are runs will be.”
One specific drill used during practice is designed to work on shape. This drill allows the players to have a better understanding of the offense and what the plan of attack is. It also helps the players to work on their spacing so everyone knows where to be in order to execute the offense.
“We pass the ball around and work on the timings of our runs,” Ondra said. “We also use this drill to work on our inside turns.”
Another key drill used is based upon possession and movement off the ball. It is designed to help the players finish balls sent into the opponent’s box by defensive and midfield teammates. The goal is to be able to predict where the ball is going resulting in more goals via heading and volleying.
“We’re trying to create more space for ourselves, which in turn we’re working on entry balls in and behind the opposition’s box for crossing and finishing,” MacDonald said. “I think it’s really just a repetitive nature of just keeping them doing it until they get comfortable with it.”
The Bulldogs will get their first chance to demonstrate if and how these drills have improved their offensive production Friday night against Middle Tennessee.
Upon preparing for the Blue Raiders, MacDonald said finishing inside the 18 and capitalizing on the final ball is where his offense needs the most improvement.
The Dawgs will take on Middle Tennessee at 7 p.m. at the Mississippi State Soccer Field on Friday in the opening game of the 2004 season.
Admission to all home games is free.