Women's Soccer | Photo by Bethany Althauser | The Wright State Guardian
The Wright State University women’s soccer team wrapped up its fall season, falling 4-1 to Robert Morris in the Horizon League tournament quarterfinals. Although the team did not reach its fullest potential, the opportunity for a successful 2024 season is well within reach.
Battling injuries
The season got off to a slow start for WSU, who went scoreless in five of the first six matches on the season. The Raiders suffered multiple preseason injuries that are believed to factor into the slow start.
“I think injuries at first were a big part of it,” head coach Travis Sobers stated.
The Raiders returned its top three scorers from last season with Marcella Sizer, Lauren Borchert and Elise Canter. Both Sizer and Borchert battled through injuries in the early phases of this season.
“Those are the kids that we were depending on to score a lot of goals for us, and they were hurt until later in the year when they were the healthiest they would be,” Sobers added.
Senior Lauren Borchert earned Horizon League second team honors after scoring three goals on the season. Senior Kaylin Helinski led in total scoring with four goals.
Conference and non-conference matchups
A tough non-conference schedule was in place to start the season for WSU, who played against the likes of Arizona State, Grand Canyon and Dayton. The Raiders salvaged a 2-3-2 record in non-conference play before beginning its HL slate.
Last season, WSU went 5-2-3 in HL play, advancing to the postseason tournament before falling to Youngstown State. This year, WSU posted a 4-3-3 conference record. Milwaukee went on to win the HL title for the sixth consecutive season despite playing against five different teams in those championship matchups.
“Every team in the Horizon League this year was winning games,” Borchert mentioned after the season. “I think when it came to us, we definitely had a couple bumps in the road, and there were games that we thought we should have won but didn’t.”
The defensive side of the ball performed very well this season, producing seven shutouts on the season. Kiera Sarka led the Raiders on defense, as she accumulated 94 saves this year. Underclassmen primarily played the back line for WSU throughout the season.
With a team featuring many new young players, this year served as a perfect example not to take anyone for granted. Freshman Kaitlyn Eyink earned HL all-freshman team honors after a great defensive season. The defense, though young, is capable of becoming a dangerous group in the coming year(s).
“Our defenders did really well for how young they were,” Helinski stated. “I think in the next few years, they are going to be really solid with how they performed this year and build off that.”
The Raiders will return over 25 players next year from this season and will continue moving this program towards its desired destination. The biggest question surrounding the Raiders this offseason is finding new production in scoring. The Raiders’ top three scorers are Helinski (4), Borchert (3) and Marcella Sizer (2), with each of them being a senior or fifth year.
WSU will begin training in the winter and spring months to start preparing for the fall 2024 season.
