Growing pains are more painful on some days than others, something the Mississippi University for Women women’s soccer team was reminded of Monday.
Facing a Louisiana College team in its first season in the NAIA after leaving NCAA Division III, the Owls were outclassed by a squad able to offer scholarships for the first time, falling 10-1 in the opening game of their season at the Lowndes County Soccer Complex.
The Wildcats, who went 5-57-6 over their last five seasons in the American Southwest Conference, overhauled their roster after the move to the NAIA and have 20 freshmen on a squad of 29. The group includes three players from Costa Rica, two each from Spain and Belgium and others from Uruguay, France and Brazil.
So despite having no winning seasons in their history, the Wildcats compiling a 33-2 advantage in shots was not a total surprise. But second-year Owls coach Catie Lyles sees it as just another step forward as her program prepares to move into the NCAA.
“I think there are always positives,” Lyles said. “We scored a goal, which is a big positive for us because last year it took until I think the last three games to put one in the back of the net.”
That goal came courtesy of forward Shelby Harrington, a senior out of Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, and it broke the shutout during the 81st minute. And Lyles was not lying about the Owls’ offense during the 2020 season, which was played this spring because of COVID-19. They were shut out for eight consecutive games before a 2-1 win over Millsaps College. The W also posted a 2-0 win at Belhaven and finished 2-11. Otherwise, they did not score.
Sophomore midfielder Leah Crabtree had the only other shot of the match for The W against the Wildcats (3-0).
It wasn’t just the opponent that made Monday’s match tough.
“Some people are playing positions they don’t normally play in, and they’re just trying to work through it,” Lyles said. “We’re working through the growing pains. Playing against an NAIA team that offers scholarships is always going to be a struggle.”
It may seem like a small thing, but Lyles took solace in the fact the Owls were still trying to score despite trailing by 10 with 10 minutes left in the game.
“This group is a really good group,” she said. “We took our hits last year, and they were resilient. And most of them came back. They understand that the more they put the work in, no matter what the score is, we’re going to have a better outcome further down the road.”
That requires building from the ground up, and with the entire athletic program still a young one, and Lyles in her second year, the road to better outcomes can appear to be a long one.
The coach is unfazed.
“We’re just trying to set the culture and build a program,” Lyles said. “It was being built well the first two years, and when I came in it was just a change of culture. For many of the girls that were returning it was new for them, but everybody’s kind of starting to fall in, and it’s starting to look positive.”
The W will play an exhibition match at West Alabama, an NCAA Division II school, on Thursday, then be back in regular-season action at 2 p.m. Saturday against Agnes Scott in Columbus.
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