2008 Woodie Awards
Spring season keeps squad kicking
Aaron Blatch, Sports Reporter
Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Sports
When the Youngstown State soccer team's season ended in October with a loss to Cleveland State, senior midfielder Britta Snowberger thought that her collegiate career was over. She never would have guessed that six months later she would not only be suiting back up for the Penguins, but doing it as goal keeper, a position she had not played.
The soccer team is playing its spring season, a type of exhibition schedule where seniors do not usually play, with just ten players due to injury and the inability of some players to meet required fitness standards. With just nine underclassmen able to compete, Snowberger was asked to try out a new position and she happily accepted.
"It's great because I thought when our season ended that my soccer career was over," she said. "It was saddening. When I was given a chance to play I jumped on it, even though it was at a foreign position."
The team is now 1-2-2, after dropping games to Canisius, 3-0, and Bowling Green, 1-0, this past weekend at Cleveland State. When the team found out that they would be playing short a player for the weekend, Snowberger said that they realized it would take maximum effort from the ten players in uniform. Despite the losses, she felt that the undermanned Penguins gave a good effort and found something positive to build on for the future.
"We're focused on establishing a strong core of people and establishing a way to play together like we played today," she said. "We worked together and tried really hard. Everybody worked themselves to death."
Snowberger said that while the games are basically exhibitions, the intensity level is higher than at a normal scrimmage because they are against teams that the Penguins will play in next year's regular season.
"We treat them more like real games because we will face these teams again next season," she said. "We want to carry confidence and bragging rights over to next season and we want to see what we can accomplish as a team."
The Penguins seem to be moving in the right direction, following a regular season that featured just one victory and one tie. Last weekend the team picked up a 2-1 win over Slippery Rock and tied Duquesne, 0-0, and Robert Morris, 1-1.
Snowberger said that the team plans to continue its spring season the next three weekends, but may also pick up extra games if possible. For her these games are more than just exhibitions, but one last chance to compete on the college level with her teammates.
The soccer team is playing its spring season, a type of exhibition schedule where seniors do not usually play, with just ten players due to injury and the inability of some players to meet required fitness standards. With just nine underclassmen able to compete, Snowberger was asked to try out a new position and she happily accepted.
"It's great because I thought when our season ended that my soccer career was over," she said. "It was saddening. When I was given a chance to play I jumped on it, even though it was at a foreign position."
The team is now 1-2-2, after dropping games to Canisius, 3-0, and Bowling Green, 1-0, this past weekend at Cleveland State. When the team found out that they would be playing short a player for the weekend, Snowberger said that they realized it would take maximum effort from the ten players in uniform. Despite the losses, she felt that the undermanned Penguins gave a good effort and found something positive to build on for the future.
"We're focused on establishing a strong core of people and establishing a way to play together like we played today," she said. "We worked together and tried really hard. Everybody worked themselves to death."
Snowberger said that while the games are basically exhibitions, the intensity level is higher than at a normal scrimmage because they are against teams that the Penguins will play in next year's regular season.
"We treat them more like real games because we will face these teams again next season," she said. "We want to carry confidence and bragging rights over to next season and we want to see what we can accomplish as a team."
The Penguins seem to be moving in the right direction, following a regular season that featured just one victory and one tie. Last weekend the team picked up a 2-1 win over Slippery Rock and tied Duquesne, 0-0, and Robert Morris, 1-1.
Snowberger said that the team plans to continue its spring season the next three weekends, but may also pick up extra games if possible. For her these games are more than just exhibitions, but one last chance to compete on the college level with her teammates.
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