Women's Soccer Practice Report #2

MARS HILL, N.C. – While their fellow students enjoyed their last few hours of sleep, the Mars Hill women's soccer team has been on the practice fields, holding workouts at 5:50 a.m.

"It took some getting used to at first, but I feel like we've adjusted to the schedule and have had some strong practices," said senior forward and team captain Rachel Weber.

While his team may be waking up as the sun comes up, it hasn't lowered the effort or intensity level. "The girls are working really hard at practice," said head coach Ken Miller. "They've been focused in training and have grasped and applied what we've worked on."

Last week the Lions focused on playing together and team unity, with the focus this week more on game situations. "Every day this week we've focused on our defensive strategies and connecting the ball to our forwards," said Weber. "We've done a lot of work on our long passes."

The Lions held their first exhibition match on Tuesday and turned in a strong initial performance.

"I was really impressed with how we played," said Weber. "We have a lot of depth. I could see it when we scrimmaged each other at practice, but when we're on the field against another team it's much more evident. We had continual momentum no matter who came in, there was no weak link."

Mars Hill will practice tomorrow morning before traveling to Pfeiffer on Saturday for their final exhibition match.