Kelsey Ackerman | Sports Co-Editor
Both Buena Vista University (BVU) men and women’s soccer teams have started their seasons in the past two weeks.
On the men’s side, the Beavers were ranked seventh preseason but really hope to exceed that ranking.
“My expectations for the fall are to make it to the conference tournament for the first time in nine years,” head coach Ben McArthur said.
The Beavers have a core group of returners, as well as 20 new players on the roster. This leads to a high competition for playing time, which makes the practices much more intense compared to years in the past when the team hasn’t had the same depth they do now.
Junior two-year starter, Tyler Smaha, has high hopes for this team as well.
“So far practices have gone great. The competition level is high and it’s great to have a group of guys that want to push each other and put the team first. We all have the same common goals for the team and are all looking forward to a successful season,” Smaha said.
On the women’s side, the Beavers also hope to surpass their preseason ranking of eighth. They return nine starters as well as 10 letter winners. With that experience mixed with new talent the Beavers look to improve immensely from last season.
Sophomore returning starter Caroline Maher who ranked second on the team in goals last season, has high hopes for this new season.
“I definitely expect our team to be more successful compared to last year. We have a lot of great transfers and freshmen that will help us with that. I just want to see the team become more successful every single year that I am here,” Maher said.
The biggest thing that Head Coach Sheena Van Roekel wants to focus on for the teams success is their attitude towards each other and what their common goals are.
“The ultimate expectation is to play for one another. During the past couple of weeks, the ladies have truly started to find pieces of who they are together and build a foundation. If they don’t fight for one another in the face of battle it won’t work. But I feel these ladies need each other to get where they know they can be,” Van Roekel
Both Beaver teams continue play Wednesday Sep. 9 against Dordt. The Women’s team will compete here at BVU with a start time of 3 pm while the Men’s team will travel to Dordt with a 5:15 pm start time.
