Although the Gustavus women’s soccer team had a rough beginning this season, they have managed to improve with every game, bringing their standing up to 5-6-0 overall and 3-4-0 in the MIAC. With four new first-years on the team, working out the kinks in their game and learning how to work as one cohesive unit has been an ongoing project. The Gustie women have two opportunities to show off their improving skills on the field with a home game against Augsburg on Oct. 13, and another home game against Buena Vista on Oct. 17.

Being that the women will be hosting Augsburg during Homecoming weekend, a strong win is a major goal that has been driving them to practice harder and play stronger with each successive game.

“I am really looking forward to our game this Saturday against Augsburg. Playing at home during Homecoming always has a special aura about it, and it’s another chance to get a conference win,” Senior Maggie Lane said.

With high hopes for the rest of the season, it’s clear that the soccer team is planning on meeting and exceeding the expectations they have set for themselves. This will hopefully manifest itself in the form of consecutive wins, improved plays and higher scores all around.

“So far the season is going really well. We continue to improve from one game to the next, which is really exciting. We have produced some good results, and when the score hasn’t been what we have wanted, we have recovered and learned from the loss. What is going well is that we continue to work hard and improve. What needs work is our consistency during our games. We have moments of brilliance, and we just need to work on making the whole game one continuous moment,” Lane said.

In addition to working hard on the field, the women’s soccer team has been working hard off the field in order to plan a successful fundraiser for the Minnesota based non-profit, Yuwa.  This organization reaches out to girls in Jharkhand, an area in rural India, in order to create an environment for young women to gain confidence and a sense of self-worth. Since its creation, Yuwa has been providing necessary resources to at-risk girls in order to break the negative marital and educational system that currently prevails in this area in which girls are undervalued and expected to adhere to strict and oftentimes unjust social mores.

According to yuwa-india.com, “When a girl organizes or joins a Yuwa team, through positive peer pressure she becomes a more regular student—players elect team captains, who keep track of school attendance, and many girls attend daily study sessions at Yuwa Club. She pays attention to her own health and to the health of her teammates, and gets access to information about her body through weekly adolescent health classes with her teammates. She marries when she chooses—on Yuwa’s first team, not a single girl has gotten married below the age of 18, even though several of their older sisters had been married off at age 15. She will raise a healthy family. The cycle continues.”

In order to contribute to Yuwa, spectators can donate money at the Buena Vista game on October 17 at 4:00 pm where the St. Peter Soccer Club’s U12 girl’s team will serve as ball girls and play during halftime. During the game there will also be a raffle for a signed Gustavus Women’s Soccer practice jersey. Afterwards, spectators are invited to join the team at Patrick’s on 3rd for specials and a silent auction to benefit Yuwa.

“It promises to be a fun and inspiring event,” Assistant Soccer Coach, Andrea Rosenthal said.

Despite a shaky start to the season, the Gustavus Women’s soccer team has really stepped up their game and brought their best to the field through improving both their plays and cohesion as a team.

“I hope to win. Winning at home during Homecoming would be great. It should be a great atmosphere to play in, and is another important conference game. Also, for the Buena Vista game I hope we draw a large crowd and have a fun time. Some of the St. Peter youth girls have been practicing with us throughout the season and they will be our ball girls at this game. I really hope we can get the win for them,” Lane said.

“My main goal is that we continue to improve until the very last game. It is easy for teams to get complacent with where they’re at. I hope we bypass that, work extra hard and continue to get better,” Lane said.