Just a few months after ten of their starters graduated, the UB women's soccer team is trying to find a new chemistry.
The team has started the season with two shutout losses. On August 27, St. Bonaventure defeated the Bulls 4-0. Two days later, the Bulls dropped a close home match to Syracuse, 1-0.
According to the team's head coach, Jean Tassy, one of the keys to improving this season will be finding someone to replace star Emily Russell.
"Emily was a finisher for us last year; she scored the majority of the goals," Tassy said.
This year, the Bulls acknowledge that they will be hard pressed to find a single player who can replace the 15 goals and 78 shots on net that Russell provided for the team.
"I think it's tough right now to put the burden on just one person. I would like to see scoring from different people and different positions," Tassy said.
So far this year, no player has been up to the task of finishing drives in the opponent's zone and Tassy is aware that the process won't be done in a day.
"We're trying to find someone who has the mentality that 'I'll score at all costs.' Emily was a graduating senior; she did not develop that until her junior year," Tassy said.
Tassy praised his team for quickly developing strong team unity despite losing most of their starters.
"Usually we would have done team building prior to the season," Tassy said. "This year we didn't have to do that."
For Tassy, the main goal of the team is to play well, stick to the game plan, and play their best, when the biggest prize is on the line.
"We have to look at what we have done, and build on that, and hope we can peak at the right time," he said.
Tassy said he is encouraged by the promise the team has shown in its first two games. He noted that the team took Syracuse, a much tougher opponent, to two overtime periods before giving up the game-winning goal.
"If you can take the Syracuse game and use that as a measurement of where we're supposed to be, we'll be fine," Coach Tassy said. "The way the team looks at this point, the scorers should make themselves apparent as the season progresses."
On Friday, the Bulls will face Fairleigh Dickinson at the Arizona Invitational.
