RELOADED FOR SUCCESS: OKWU women's soccer looks strong
Fourth-year Oklahoma Wesleyan University women’s soccer head coach Ivan Ristic will have a mostly new cast of characters this coming season, but hopes the production will be just as much a smash hit.
The Lady Eagles bid good-bye to more than a dozen players off last year’s team.
It’s tremendous loss. Most of those players formed the backbone of a Lady Eagles team that put together a 38-5-1 record the past the two seasons, including a 25-0 record in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and back-to-back berths in the NAIA national women’s soccer tournament.
To attempt to capsulize the individual achievements of the seniors would require an elephantine-sized pamphlet.But, exceptional talents set to be back are Laura Maria, Tania Mocholi, Nerea Perez Mora and Faith Mosaira.
Maria scored a team-high 31 goals last season and has 63 in her OKWU career. She also led in assists (14) in 2021.
Mocholi contributed 11 goals and seven assists for 29 points last season, third-most on the team. Mora played all but 58 minutes last year in goal, recorded 12 shutouts and allowed only 11 goals in 22 matches started. Mosaira helped run the transition as a midfielder.
But, Ristic and his expanded coaching staff will have to blend together several new components in key roles.
“We’ll have a completely new chemistry,” Ristic said. “Most of the players will be freshmen.”
But, he believes many of his freshmen will be able to step in and get the job done.
“We’re hoping to have a good season,” Ristic said. “We want to continue where we ended last year,” which includes competing for another conference title and making a strong showing in the national tournament, he said.
“It’s not going to easy for us,” Ristic continued. “We have a lot of work to do in the preseason. I think our biggest strength will be depth. I think for each position we’ll have at least two players who will be competitive. Right now, I could not say who will start.”
The Lady Eagles will approach the season one match at a time, he said.
He’s also pleased with addition of two new assistant coaches, increasing the staff to four, including himself.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Despite heavy graduation losses, OKWU women's soccer reloads
