Wolverines finish up undefeated conference record
Wolverines go 5-0 in Great West Conference play and credit strong performances in early losses to BYU and Loyola Marymount as games that gave them confidence heading into conference play.
“We’re stoked,” said Natalie Baker about going undefeated in conference play. “Delaware State beat us last year, and we all had that in the back of our minds and we were all ready to come out and play.”
A similar situation was on the Wolverines’ doorstep last year. The team traveled to Delaware to wrap up an undefeated conference record but was unable to get that last win that would have made them undefeated in the conference. The Wolverines steered clear of that ending this season and couldn’t have had a better tune up before the conference tournament.
“We didn’t really talk about having the GWC wrapped up,” said Head Coach Brent Anderson. “Technically they did, but they wanted to be undefeated in conference play and set the tone for the tournament.”
After starting the season 1-10-1, the Wolverines entered conference play and went undefeated with a 5-0 record. Their final two losses before going on a winning streak came at the hands of the nationally ranked BYU Cougars and Loyola Marymount, two games that UVU narrowly lost.
“We had a rough preseason,” Baker said, “so to come in and be undefeated in regular season play was really good for us. It was a confidence boost that we needed.”
Baker doesn’t think that the team did anything different to stop the losing streak and change it to a winning one.
“We played a lot of really good teams in our preseason,” Baker said. “That really prepared us to play good soccer during our season. Our record isn’t the best but it really helped us get to where we are.”
Even though the team capped off a great conference record, that doesn’t mean their play is perfect. There’s always something that can be improved.
“I think we just need to clean things up a little bit more with our defensive shape,” Anderson said. “I think we did well on the attack [against Delaware State], but I still think we are more dangerous than we showed.”
Versus Delaware State, the Wolverines had 35 total shots, 19 shots on goal and netted five. If they can attack like that in the conference tournament, they will be in a great position to take home the tournament trophy.
