The Lady Bison soccer team hasn’t had the year they were looking forward to at the start of this season, but they finally seem to have hit their stride.
Kicking the season off with a 10-game losing streak along with one tie, the Lady Bison have now won both of their last two contests against the South Carolina State Bulldogs and The St. Francis-Brooklyn Terriers, giving them a record of 2-10-1 on the season.
The win against the Terriers marked the Bison’s second Northeast Conference (NEC) win, making the feeling bittersweet. Their inconsistent play has led them to a 2-5 conference record and an 8th-place standing. Senior outside back Adrianna Reece-Newman spoke to the Hilltop about the season. When asked how she felt about how their season has shaped so far, Newman expressed, “The season definitely hasn’t gone the way we wanted, but I believe we just had to work out the problems that led us to letting the game slip away from us.”
With the struggle of the Lady Bison season so far, Newman spoke on what it took for them to find a way to get back on track. “We just play our game and play for ourselves. We really need to find the love for the game again and have fun, but also put everything out on the field.”
The win against St. Francis was significant because it was the season finale at Greene Stadium which means the final home game for many of the Lady Bison’s seniors, including Adrianna Reece-Newman. According to her, the emotional win was both a moral victory as well as one that counts in the win column.
Newman reflected on the final game, “It was super important for us to win on senior night, a final win for the seniors as we all were together since freshman year. We just really wanted to be able to celebrate the four years we have been playing together.” Newman went on to say, “ and for the final game at Greene Stadium…to be able to have a good final memory and win to close our senior year at Greene. It was sad, but it also felt good,” said Newman.
The next game on the schedule is against NEC rival Stonehill College. Stonehill is 0-5-1 on the season and right below the Bison in the standings sitting in 9th place. Newman talked about the strategy heading into the game, saying “I really think the strategy is to play our game like we know how to do and finish out this season strong. We have to stay calm and not let ourselves get in our heads to simplify the game and not make it hard on us.”
With this final run of the season, the Lady Bison soccer team looks to finish stronger than they started.
Copy edited by Nhandi Long-Shipman
