Turning It Around

The women’s and men’s soccer teams at Bluefield University are looking to turn their programs around this season, and over the past few weeks with overall records of 3-7-1 (as of 10-02-24) and 3-5-1 (as of 10-02-24), respectively, they have already made progress on that front, starting their seasons better than the last.

Coaches and leaders from both teams attribute the success to changes in culture. Women’s soccer head coach Patrick Ritter said that the “mentality” is the biggest thing that has changed with “lots of players who want to win and will keep playing hard whether we are winning or losing,” something the team proved in a recent home game versus Bryan University. After being scored on twice in the second half, Bluefield’s Joanna Lemus-Rios scored two goals in the last seven minutes to tie the game, sparking celebration amongst the team and fans, including Nathaly Granda, one of Bluefield’s Ecuadorian players, who celebrated by running around tossing a chair in the air.

Echoed by the assistant coach Jacob Key and captain Savannah Holmes, culture is the priority for the women’s soccer team. For Holmes, the team’s bondedness and focus on growing together will keep them in the right direction and away from team drama. Key said he has been pleasantly surprised at how well the team is meshing, but he wants to see even more.

“Culture always has room for improvement, and I want to keep building that culture at this level at Bluefield University,” Key said, “and I want people to know that Bluefield University’s women’s soccer is something special.” He added that the “intensity is higher,” as well as “the need and want to win
everything”, even at practice, which he said is important and “will get [the team] to go far this year.”

For both teams, a revolving door of coaches, and subsequent styles of play, have been a hindrance. In the last four seasons, the men’s soccer team has had three different coaches. For the women’s team: four separate coaches in the last six years. Key said he believes consistency in leadership will bear fruit as the season progresses.

Both teams had strong recruiting years with many new players. For the men’s team, with such a deep bench the new recruits don’t often get playing time, except a few, namely Edwin Cruz (#2), who has made a big impact on defense for the men’s team. Injuries have sidelined a number of players for the women’s team, so the large number of new recruits has been helpful, particularly freshman keeper Autumn Matthews who has filled the gap exceptionally well. However, captains for both teams, Macy McBride (women) and Adam Gymnander (men) remain integral to locking down plays on defense.

With both teams promising improvement and team comradery this year, now seems like the perfect time to go to games. Fans can follow the road games at burams.com and catch all the home games at East River Soccer Complex. Who knows, you might see another player with a chair in the air.