Soccer develops back four and mentally prepares for Detroit on Friday.
Coach Aaron Rodgers has added a lot of new faces to the program during the offseason.
Defensively, freshmen Mandy Arnzen and Rianna Reese had opportunities Friday against Purdue. They will have a similar chance this week against Detroit.
Arnzen and Reese are part of a young defensive line, — along with sophomore Megan Niebuhr and senior Grace Campbell — and the lack of experience showed in last week’s 3-0 loss to Purdue.
"We've worked a lot on our shape and getting organized quickly," Reese said. "(On the) goals we gave up, we had poor shape in the back."
The two goals Reese is referring to came in the sixth and 49th minute, as she said the defense devoted half of Tuesday's practice to putting the back four in sync.
Along with movement, the defense also worked on communication among themselves, which is critical for avoiding defensive collapses.
"In that (drill) you step and the person who goes to the ball says, 'I go,' " Reese said. "And everyone else is yelling, 'Shift. Force left, force right.' "
The other defender, Arnzen, said communication is important for her development.
With her playing the wide back, she has to focus on not only getting up the field and helping with the attack, but also running back and helping with the defense.
"We really just need to stay connected," Arnzen said.
Although Arnzen and Reese are seeing the differences between club and DI soccer, Rodgers said, for a first game, the backline he started worked well together.
"We have underclassmen starting in the backline," Rodgers said. "And we went up against a good Purdue offense."
Practice this week was all about mental preparation for preparing the players to start strong right at the whistle.
Rodgers said he has pushed the Bobcats during their warm-ups, but it's up to the starting defense — Neibuhr, Campbell, Arnzen and Reese — to make the difference come Friday night.
"We'll probably start the back four the same way we did on Friday (against Purdue)," Rodgers said. "As a group they are working hard and encouraging each other."
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