By
Audrey DeAnda
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Soccer team to face Lobos tonight in Albuquerque
As the UA soccer team prepares to face New Mexico tonight in their second road trip of the season, head coach Cathy Klein has taken on new strategies to try and generate a win.
In preparation for the game against the Lobos, Klein has been breaking down plays during this week's practices, often stopping players in the middle of scrimmages and breaking down their positioning and actions.
"I'm a firm believer of 'don't just keep up what you have been doing if it's not working,'" Klein said. "Obviously if we're 0-4, I need to modify how we're handling things."
Klein also has been addressing how the team handles adversity.
"You lose a ball in the middle of game or miss a wide open goal - how do you react?" Klein asked. "Are you sullen or do you work twice as hard?"
Klein said the team has had mental lapses during recent games which have cost them dearly.
"These are ridiculous inexperienced errors and we just have to tolerate that we may make those mistakes but eventually we'll get to where we need to be," Klein said. "Realistically we should be 2-2."
The Wildcats will have to be physically and mentally strong today as they face the Lobos, who are 3-3-0 overall. They will also have to capitalize on opportunities they missed last weekend.
"We had three golden opportunities to score against Utah and we didn't," Klein said. "We lose against Pittsburgh because we don't match up six yards from the goals."
Going into tonight's game, Klein only has one goal - winning.
"I always expect to win," she said. "I always expect to dominate and I always expect character and work ethic to prevail."
In the Lobos, the Wildcats will be facing a team that has struggled in the season's first weeks.
New Mexico lost to Rhode Island on Friday, then slid by Marshall last Sunday in games played at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The victory against the Thundering Herd halted the Lobos' three-game losing streak.
UNM sophomore forward Tara Alarid leads New Mexico in scoring with three goals and senior defender Jayme Dieringer has one goal and two assists.
The Wildcats will hope to stop the Lobos by increasing their offensive production.
After being out-shot by opponents by 27 shots in the team's first four games, Klein has decided to move sophomore defender Naomi Chu up front.
"Naomi Chu is ready to attack full-time," Klein said. "We might play her 60 minutes up front and 30 minutes in the midfield. I want her closer to the goal because she has an unlimited amount of energy and an unlimited amount of desire."
Moving Chu into an attacking role is one strategy Klein and her staff are making in hope for long-term results.
"My job is to build a program rather than to build a team," Klein said. "I want to get the best 11 players on the field; that might mean putting Naomi out of position so that we can get her up front and in the midfield."
Junior goalkeeper Shannon Monti said the team has made improvements but players still need to get the winning mentality.
"It's almost (as if) they lost the fight before they even came onto the field," Monti said. "They haven't said to themselves 'we can win' or 'we're going to win'. Cathy says it's lip service but it's a matter of feeling it and believing it in your heart."
Though the Wildcats only had one day of practice in preparation for today's game, senior defender Ann Giallonardo thinks the single practice helped the team recharge after a tough weekend.
"(The 0-2 weekend) was a little disappointing," she said. "I think everyone was mentally down and so the day off really helped."
Though the Wildcats are winless, Klein said the team's chemistry is still "rock- solid."
"For a team that's 0-4, I believe our team has a noticeably improved chemistry and work ethic," Klein said. "I believe that we are better every game and that we are improving every game. We've come a noticeably long way but no question we have a noticeably long way to go."
Audrey DeAnda can be reached at sports@wildcat.arizona.edu.
