Lady Hawks try to reawaken after 4-0 loss to Western Reserve
Novocaine.
Kind of a strange thing, novocaine.
Novocaine is a local anesthetic that is used to reduce pain. However, a side effect from the drug is that it makes you numb.
For Hiland girls soccer coach Pat Miller, this current run through the middle of the soccer season has left him feeling all of the pain, yet the numbness still remains. It is almost like someone has given his Lady Hawks a shot of novocaine, but while they have gone numb from it, they oddly still feel the pain.
There have been multiple areas of pain in recent games, from numerous injuries to several key players to a lack of scoring and a team that is struggling to find its identity.
The latest set back was a 4-0 loss to Western Reserve, certainly an upper echelon team, but one with which Miller feels certain they should have been able to compete.
In the match-up on Saturday, Sept. 24 at Hiland High School, Western Reserve’s Nicky Waldeck did a nice job of putting the Lady Hawks in a foul mood all by herself, creating a number of shots for herself on fast breaks in which balls were banged over the top of the defense. Waldeck flew by the Hiland defenders to the net, producing a trio of goals for a 3-0 lead. When Pauline Van Dijck connected late in the second half to complete the scoring, it left the Lady Hawks and their coaching staff in a rotten mood.
“Once they got that 3-0 lead we were done,” said Miller. “We did a terrible job in transition.”
While the Lady Hawks now stand at a respectable 4-5-2, it hasn’t been the record that has irked Miller, but rather the way his team has played at times during recent games. Miller said that they have plenty of skills to compete with better teams like Western Reserve (7-2-3) and CVCA, but he said that the fire hasn’t been there for this year’s team.
“We have the tools to be a really good team,” said Miller. “But tools unmotivated aren’t any good.”
Miller said much of the problem may stem not from what is happening this season, but from what has happened over the past two, three and four seasons.
The Hiland coach said that since the program began six seasons ago, it has been an uphill battle to build a program. Anytime a team starts up a system, it takes time to get it going in the right direction, and Miller said that this group of 12 seniors have taken their lumps over the years, something he is very sympathetic toward.
However, having gone through some lean years, Miller said that the core of this year’s team has to find its identity, considering that they have felt the sting of defeat so often that whenever it gets behind, the team begins to fall back into that same feeling of being defeated.
“I have got to find some way of motivating them,” said Miller of his team following the 4-0 loss to Western Reserve, a solid team, but one which the Lady Hawks had defeated 1-0 last season. “It is aggravating to see about 70 percent of what we are capable of. I don’t know if they know what they are playing for.”
Miller has always stressed the joy of the sport, and is normally a very easygoing individual, but the play of his team over recent games, and their lack of ability to score goals, has him trying to examine every possible way to inspire and motivate his team.
“We’re playing uninspiring soccer right now,” said Miller. “We don’t have the intensity or desire we need. We did some decent stuff out there, and we are still working through some injuries, but we are such a defensive-minded team right now. I walked into that locker room before the game and we already were not there mentally. I don’t know...”
One of the key injuries is to midfielder Hannah Stoneman, whom Miller said they hope to have back soon. He said her ability to move the ball around the field has been sorely missed. The other missing component is keeper Julie Raber, who has been a fixture in goal over the past three seasons.
Raber injured her elbow in practice, and although she tried to play through the pain, Miller said she simply needed time off.
In her place, freshman McKenzie Miller stepped in and performed admirably in the defeat. While Western Reserve knocked in four goals, all of them were balls that would have been tough for any goalie to stop.
Between the lack of scoring, the injuries and the lack of winning history, it has all added up to a frustrating season thus far for the Lady Hawks.
“I can’t take it out of the kids, they have to show the leadership and step up themselves, and bring back some feeling to this team, because right now we’re numb,” said Miller. “I’ve seen us better than this. I know we’re better than this. If we can’t find a reason to have fun and give everything we have, it’s not worth it.”
So it was with heavy heart that Miller sent his troops off the field and into the locker room following the game, asking them to get together and talk about what they wanted to get out of this season and how they wanted to go about changing their recent fortunes following a solid 3-1 start to the campaign.
“Right now we have no heart. I hope they can figure something out in there,” said Miller hopefully. “We’ve definitely got the talent here to play better than we are right now.”
Kind of a strange thing, novocaine.
Novocaine is a local anesthetic that is used to reduce pain. However, a side effect from the drug is that it makes you numb.
For Hiland girls soccer coach Pat Miller, this current run through the middle of the soccer season has left him feeling all of the pain, yet the numbness still remains. It is almost like someone has given his Lady Hawks a shot of novocaine, but while they have gone numb from it, they oddly still feel the pain.
There have been multiple areas of pain in recent games, from numerous injuries to several key players to a lack of scoring and a team that is struggling to find its identity.
The latest set back was a 4-0 loss to Western Reserve, certainly an upper echelon team, but one with which Miller feels certain they should have been able to compete.
In the match-up on Saturday, Sept. 24 at Hiland High School, Western Reserve’s Nicky Waldeck did a nice job of putting the Lady Hawks in a foul mood all by herself, creating a number of shots for herself on fast breaks in which balls were banged over the top of the defense. Waldeck flew by the Hiland defenders to the net, producing a trio of goals for a 3-0 lead. When Pauline Van Dijck connected late in the second half to complete the scoring, it left the Lady Hawks and their coaching staff in a rotten mood.
“Once they got that 3-0 lead we were done,” said Miller. “We did a terrible job in transition.”
While the Lady Hawks now stand at a respectable 4-5-2, it hasn’t been the record that has irked Miller, but rather the way his team has played at times during recent games. Miller said that they have plenty of skills to compete with better teams like Western Reserve (7-2-3) and CVCA, but he said that the fire hasn’t been there for this year’s team.
“We have the tools to be a really good team,” said Miller. “But tools unmotivated aren’t any good.”
Miller said much of the problem may stem not from what is happening this season, but from what has happened over the past two, three and four seasons.
The Hiland coach said that since the program began six seasons ago, it has been an uphill battle to build a program. Anytime a team starts up a system, it takes time to get it going in the right direction, and Miller said that this group of 12 seniors have taken their lumps over the years, something he is very sympathetic toward.
However, having gone through some lean years, Miller said that the core of this year’s team has to find its identity, considering that they have felt the sting of defeat so often that whenever it gets behind, the team begins to fall back into that same feeling of being defeated.
“I have got to find some way of motivating them,” said Miller of his team following the 4-0 loss to Western Reserve, a solid team, but one which the Lady Hawks had defeated 1-0 last season. “It is aggravating to see about 70 percent of what we are capable of. I don’t know if they know what they are playing for.”
Miller has always stressed the joy of the sport, and is normally a very easygoing individual, but the play of his team over recent games, and their lack of ability to score goals, has him trying to examine every possible way to inspire and motivate his team.
“We’re playing uninspiring soccer right now,” said Miller. “We don’t have the intensity or desire we need. We did some decent stuff out there, and we are still working through some injuries, but we are such a defensive-minded team right now. I walked into that locker room before the game and we already were not there mentally. I don’t know...”
One of the key injuries is to midfielder Hannah Stoneman, whom Miller said they hope to have back soon. He said her ability to move the ball around the field has been sorely missed. The other missing component is keeper Julie Raber, who has been a fixture in goal over the past three seasons.
Raber injured her elbow in practice, and although she tried to play through the pain, Miller said she simply needed time off.
In her place, freshman McKenzie Miller stepped in and performed admirably in the defeat. While Western Reserve knocked in four goals, all of them were balls that would have been tough for any goalie to stop.
Between the lack of scoring, the injuries and the lack of winning history, it has all added up to a frustrating season thus far for the Lady Hawks.
“I can’t take it out of the kids, they have to show the leadership and step up themselves, and bring back some feeling to this team, because right now we’re numb,” said Miller. “I’ve seen us better than this. I know we’re better than this. If we can’t find a reason to have fun and give everything we have, it’s not worth it.”
So it was with heavy heart that Miller sent his troops off the field and into the locker room following the game, asking them to get together and talk about what they wanted to get out of this season and how they wanted to go about changing their recent fortunes following a solid 3-1 start to the campaign.
“Right now we have no heart. I hope they can figure something out in there,” said Miller hopefully. “We’ve definitely got the talent here to play better than we are right now.”
Published: September 24, 2011
