By Paul Freelend
Stiff challenges from regional opponents await the Maverick soccer team as its first road trip of the regular season beckons.
Truman State, ranked sixth in the nation in pre-season polls, and Central Missouri State will face off against the Mavs at the Truman State Invitational in Kirksville, Mo. North Central Conference foe Northern Colorado will also be in attendance but will only play the two Missouri schools.
Maverick soccer head coach Don Klosterman said his team was looking forward to the early season test.
“I think you don’t always go into games like these looking to make a statement,” Klosterman said. “However, the older kids who have been in the program a while know the Truman State and Central Missouri State weekend is a big one for us. It’s going to challenge us early in the season and that’s good because we want to see what we’re made of. It’s going to be a good test of our team make-up right now.”
Truman State finished last season ranked first in the North Central Region and reached the Final Eight of the NCAA Division II Tournament before being eliminated. The Bulldogs and Mavericks met once during last season at the TSU Invite with Truman State winning 1-0 on a goal late in the match.
Central Missouri State also closed out last season ranked in the regional Top 10 but finished ranked behind the Mavs.
Klosterman said his team needs to be confident but must also be aware of the size of the task before them and the need to be mentally prepared for both games.
“Our overall record against Truman is 2-1, so it’s not like there’s a large gap in between our teams,” Klosterman said. “That said, we need to be confident but guarded at the same time. Truman State is not your run of the mill team and it’s going to be one of the tougher games we will play all season. We need to be confident in what we can do as a team but we also need to be aware of what we’re getting into.
“Another problem is going to be avoiding letdown between the two games. Central Missouri is a good team, too. The whole weekend is going to present a lot of challenges for both the players and the coaches and we need to be ready to face those challenges.”
During UNO’s 4-1 over Winona State on Aug. 31, the Mavericks used all three goalkeepers on their roster. Klosterman said freshman keeper Amy Price had won the starting nod but that all of the team’s netminders needed to be kept in readiness.
“Amy Price has earned the starting goalkeeper spot,” Klosterman said. “We also want to make sure and play all of our keepers in order to create competition for playing time and to keep the other keepers sharp in case of injuries. With what we ask of our keepers, we have to make sure everyone is ready for action.”
Following their swing through Missouri, the team will return home on Sept. 14 and 15 for matches against Wayne State and Missouri Southern.
