Nil-nil draw puts team back on track
Oct. 6, 2008 - Regina Leader-Post
By Chris Jaster
University of Regina's soccer players charged the field after the referee blew the final whistle Sunday afternoon.
The Cougars returned to early-season form in a 0-0 tie against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds at Cougars-Rams Field.
"It's a rewarding day for the team in the sense that we've been able to show a lot of character to rebound after a few fairly lopsided defeats," said Cougars head coach Bob Maltman.
The Cougars opened the season with a pair of ties and two one-goal losses. They lost each of their next four games by at least four goals.
Maltman thinks the Cougars returned to proper form in the tie against the 10th-ranked Thunderbirds (5-1-4) and Saturday's 2-0 loss to the seventh-ranked University of Victoria Vikes (7-2-1).
In addition to preparation and hard work in practices, Maltman believes the transition came from a team meeting held Friday.
"We had a very good discussion -- both the players and the coaching staff," he said. "Everyone had been moaning and we were upset with ourselves. We talked a bit about how we were getting more crusty with one another than focusing on the things we had been doing during our first four games.
"I think it brought a renewed perspective of what we're about as a team and we kind of pulled together."
The Cougars withheld pressure from the Thunderbirds in the contest. While crossbars and the offside trap were the Cougars defenders' friends, the midfield support helped contain the UBC attackers to the sidelines.
Regina prepared for a UBC aerial attack by bringing its midfielders into a position to compress the field for the ball carrier, not allowing room to move the ball into the middle of the field.
"Once we played it to a side, we'd slide across and compress the space on the sideline," Maltman said. "I thought the girls stuck to the task very well and we got back to just doing what we're capable of doing instead of running after things. It was really good."
While the defence was solid for most of the game, it felt a lot of pressure in the dying minutes.
The Thunderbirds hit three crossbars and won two corner kicks in the final five minutes, but were unable to find the back of the net.
"We were nervous at the end of the game," said Cougars defender Kelsey Abstreiter. "We maintained (our composure) and we were OK."
Maltman admitted the ending was exciting from a fan's perspective, but it's the not the way he wanted to see his team finish the game.
"It was very nerve-wracking because the ball could have easily hit a foot and gone in," he said of the final five minutes. "Somebody was smiling on us and you need a little bit of that too."
The Cougars' best scoring chance came in the 77th minute when UBC keeper Jaclyn Dunnett bobbled a shot from midfield. Dana Renneberg jumped on the rebound but hit the post with her shot.
Maltman thinks the Cougars deserved the point in the standings and showed potential for the future.
"We worked very hard as a team and we stuck to what we talked about in the locker-room," he said. "I thought it was a well-deserved and hard-fought tie."
Cougars keeper Michelle Anderson stopped 11 shots in the tie on Sunday and four shots in Saturday's loss.
Moira Hood and Jackie Snell scored for the Vikes on Saturday.
The Cougars improve to 0-7-3 on the season, giving them one more point than they had all of last season.