Goshen’s Brittany Clark takes possession during the Lady Warriors game against Amelia.

Goshen’s Brittany Clark takes possession during the Lady Warriors game against Amelia.
By Chris Chaney
Sun staff

The Goshen girls’ soccer team isn’t where they want to be after the first two weeks of the season, but if you think that they’re going to fold after a rough start, you have another thing coming.

An 0-4 record through the first nine days of the season is admittedly not where Goshen head coach Ken Lowe wants to be, but the coach is adamant about getting his team back on the right side of the win-loss column soon.

“Through those games, we’ve played the conference champions from last year, Amelia. We’ve played the team who finished second, Norwood and the team that finished in third, New Richmond,” Lowe explained. “We’ve played some of the tougher teams in our league. We’ve got some work to do and we’re getting it done.”

New Richmond and Amelia, the two most recent of the Lady Warriors’ opponents, both took them down 6-0, but a close 3-2 loss to Norwood showed signs of the potential that Lowe sees in his team.

“If this were the middle of the season, I would have more to tell you,” he said. “But we’re young and starting to really understand the game more as far as the communication part of it, the runs that need to be made — they’re really starting to get the hang of it.

“Once we get that aspect of it, I think we’ll be okay.”

Lowe is a big proponent of a team mentality, which would allow certain individuals to standout at different times while others can step up and take the reigns at another.

“I try to preach team,” he said. “Within our team concept, there are a couple of kids who can fit in good. We’ve got some good talent, it’s just getting it out of them.”

Players who have proven to have the ability to stand out in the past include returning All-Southern Buckeye Conference selections from a year ago Hannah Owens, Hailey Halcomb and Brittany Clark. All three return to the squad in 2013 with Owens as the lone senior and Halcomb and Clark playing their junior seasons.

The Lady Warriors have an eclectic group of talent and experience, ranging from the four freshmen to the six seniors.

The growing process is what Lowe is keying in on in the early season because he has his team facing off against opponents who have a lot of experience with club soccer while many of his athletes do not.

“I’m hoping that when we get to the point midway through the season that the kids are understanding when to make the right passes,” Lowe said. “We don’t have a lot of (club soccer) here in Goshen, so (those teaching points) have not been introduced to them yet, but it will be.”

Goshen plays their two remaining SBC-American opponents this week in Bethel-Tate on Tuesday, Sept. 3 and Western Brown on Thursday, Sept. 5. Lowe anticipates that both will be competitive games and expects to improve upon their performances when they play their conference foes later in the season.

While wins and losses will become products of the team’s hard work, Lowe is also hoping to use a passionate and competitive team to bring not only his team closer, but the fans back to support them.

“I’m looking to winning back the community and believing in the girls’ soccer program,” he said. “I’m hoping to introduce to them a new style. I want to regain the confidence. I know winning brings more confidence, but I don’t want them to think that if they lost that they didn’t gain anything. I want them to know that they are winners every time they take the field.”