Recently the Hilbert Women’s Soccer team has been struggling to come up with wins. The last couple of games they have been able to tune the games around and help pick up wins for Hilbert.

On Monday, October 16^th the women’s soccer team was able to come home with a victory, eleven to nothing. On Wednesday, October 18^th they were able to take another win on their senior night against Pitts-Bradford, ten to one.

Junior Chloe Champagne says, “our last two games have not been against very competitive teams.” When asked about what has helped the team in the last two games. Champagne also says that the communication on the team has gotten way better than it was in the beginning being as everyone who was new to the team hadn’t had a chance to bond with each other yet.

Communication on the team is very important according to both Senior Kaitlyn Sobczak and Junior Chloe Champagne. Without communication the team has not been able to put full trust into each other, as the season goes on the communication has gotten better as stated by both Sobczak and Champagne.

Sobczak says that “trust in each other” is what has made the last two games so successful. “We are at our best when we use every player on the field and trust them to play at their level,” she said.

Sobczak said she is very excited for this season being as it is her final season. She wouldn’t want to be on any other team and couldn’t be any more proud or grateful for the team she has been on the past four years of college.

Champagne being a junior means that she is one of the girls that people look up to other than seniors. She loves the feeling of other people being able to look up to her and ask her questions or open up to her about anything they might be struggling with.

 “The hardest thing about this year season is the adversary with injuries and sicknesses that we have faced,” stated Sobczak. “The adversity we faced only made us stronger and more disciplined on and off the field.”

Champagne shared her hardship of the year by talking about the red card she received while playing a game previously. She takes full responsibility for what she did, and she knew she let her emotions get the best of her and that it would not only affect her but her teammates as well.

“That was a major mental setback that I had to get over to continue being a successful asset to the team.”

For the last two years of Hilbert softball, the team has not had very good seasons. This year the coaches along with the players are hoping to start over beginning with the fall season.

Softball is not normally a fall sport but just like every sport they get to have a preseason. John Hall has been the head coach of Hilbert Softball for eight years. Every year Coach John Hall recruits different girls from all over the country. 

            After talking with Coach Hall about this season, Hall said that he is, “very excited” about this season. “I think we got a great team and we’re going to do some good things,” he said.

            Hall thinks that the Hilbert Hawk Softball team has a chance to win this year being as the girls have better attitudes and they have enough pitchers, whereas the last couple of years the team did not have very many pitchers.

 “I can see us making the playoffs this year.” Hall said. “Our pitching was what hurt us last year now we’re ready to go so,… we have a shot at the playoffs.”

            The girls on the team have better communication and are able to broadcast that ability into the games. Along with the fact that everyone knows their position and knows how to do what they need to do when they are on the field.

“The attitudes, the quality of the people we have, and everybody here can do a job so, I think it’s going to be great.”

            With the new additions to the team and the chemistry between teammates the team is looking forward to this new season. With just a week till the preseason, the team is working hard to improve what they can before their actual season in the spring, starting with a week in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

            Leandra Cruz, a four-year senior on the softball team, said that the difference in this year and previous seasons is huge because there has been many positive changes to the team. She said she is “more confident and ready for the upcoming season than in the previous years.”

Cruz says this mostly because she has worked to improve her skills and so has the team as a whole, along with the additions to the team including coaches. 

One thing that caused most of our problems in prior seasons according to Cruz was the “lack of chemistry between the players… I don’t see this issue this year and I believe the chemistry and environment overall seems better.”

With the team being able to get along better this year the team and coaches are hoping for a better overall season.