STATESBORO - Georgia Southern women's soccer recently completed its Spring 2022 segment, capping off a four-match stretch with a successful trip to Gainesville, Fla., where the Eagles defeated the University of Florida by a 1-0 score.
"Spring is always about paying it forward for the Fall," Georgia Southern Head Women's Soccer Coach Coach Adams said. "It's about finding out what you have coming back, and what your needs are. Since we graduated eight seniors, five of whom were starters, you look up and suddenly you've become a fairly young team overnight. So the most important thing for us this Spring was getting some of our younger players some game experience, and getting the chance to work on their consistency."
Coach Adams saw improvement from several of those younger players as well as a quick integration into the Eagle program from three transfers who joined the team in January. And much like the team showed during its run to a Sun Belt Conference tournament final berth in the Fall, defense was key for the Eagles' success this Spring.
"Maya Zovko, for example, had a fantastic Spring, starting at right back and playing all 90 minutes at Florida. She has worked extremely hard on and off the field to get more minutes. Simone Timm had a very good Spring as well. In the Fall, they were behind some of those seniors on the depth chart, and it was difficult for them to make their way onto the field. This Spring, they earned a starting spot because of their consistency and hard work."
"I think that our three mid-year transfers who came and settled in well," Coach Adams said. "Kamryn Nobles (Coastal Carolina) was a good pickup for us and she started at left back. Ellie McIntyre (Ole Miss) was our starting center mid, and Ansleigh Crenshaw (Palm Beach Atlantic) was our first midfield sub off of the bench. And with our two center backs being team captains in Megan Przybysz and Sade Heinrichs, we've gotten even better in the back. We feel pretty secure back there with their leadership and organization."
The Eagles began the Spring by playing Mercer to a draw, then dropped a one-goal decision to Jacksonville before rebounding with a win over Charleston Southern that preceded the win at Florida. In four matches, Georgia Southern conceded just two goals for an outstanding 0.50 GAA.
"We played opponents who gave us a lot of different looks," Coach Adams said. "We made adjustments on the fly, especially against Florida, who changed formations multiple times. But we managed that situation and I think our defense has gotten even better, which is a great sign."
Georgia Southern will now use this momentum to carry into the Fall of 2022, where the Eagles will welcome in nine new freshman to the squad to join 18 returnees and the three Spring transfers.
"In two months, our freshman will report," Coach Adams said. "We have nine kids who will be hungry to find their way on the field. For our returning players, it's not a time to be content. I'm proud of them for their results this Spring, but there's a lot more work to be done. Like last year, part of our early season success was having 24 kids working hard over the summer. With four new teams joining the Sun Belt Conference, bigger challenges are ahead, and we will have to be that much better this year than we were last year. I do think there's going to be a lot more competition to earn your way on the field in the Fall. Our depth is going to be tremendous next year."
