Mansfield women hope that team mentality pays off in win column this year
Sometimes it takes more than just talent to make a team successful.
The most talented group in the world can come undone if there isn't chemistry on the roster.
For the Mansfield women's soccer team it's something they think has been a problem the past few years. A problem they think they have taken care of this year.
"So far things have been completely different than last year," senior Jackie Karlovich said. "It's been great to see how everyone meshes together. There has been all kind of excitement this year."
While the newcomers on the team have stepped right in and fit in with the upperclassmen at Mansfield, they have also provided the team with a lot more talent this year.
"We have a lot of players that have come in and can play," Karlovich said. "They really have come in and they push you to be better. The freshmen are good and they make everyone else better."
While the freshmen have been good, the returning players have also stepped up their game.
"A lot of the returning players came back more in shape and they have really worked hard," senior Kelsey Gelina said.
For head coach Tim Dempsey, the improvement of the returning players, coupled with the talented newcomers, makes for a deeper team this year.
"I think this year the team will be a little bit better from the depth standpoint," he said. "Last year we only had 12 or 13 players who we could slide in there."
Having more and more talented players on the roster is pushing each player to continue to improve if they want to get playing time.
"It definitely pushes you more," Gelina said. "You have to keep working hard because there are so many other people pushing you now."
Although this year's team has more players who are capable of getting playing time, it's also a team that is getting along really well.
"I think it started the second or third day when we kind of got to know each other and groups weren't starting to form on the team," Karlovich said. "I think we are definitely closer this year; we are more together as a team."
That chemistry is something that Dempsey knows can play a big role in the team's success.
"I think we had some chemistry problems that had an affect on our play on the field in the past," he said. "I think good chemistry can overcome some of the lack of depth. The players play better together; they play as a whole team. They work hard together."
And all of those players are working toward the same goal - trying to reach the PSAC playoffs.
"Everyone on the team is excited. We are really excited since it's our last season. We want to leave it all out there," Karlovich said. "Making the playoffs is something we have worked toward our entire careers."
And it's a goal that the seniors would love to reach before they finish up at Mansfield.
"It's been a goal for four years to make it to the PSAC playoffs and we really want to do it this year," Karlovich added.
And the rest of the roster knows how important it is to the seniors to reach that goal.
"They are aware how much we want this," Gelina said. "They know this is the goal."
This year's roster will feature two former NTL stars in Colleen Dempsey, coach Tim Dempsey's daughter, and Troy graduate Maddie Morse.
"Maddie is doing a great job as far as her hard work," Tim Dempsey said. "When you play in a league like the NTL you have not experienced the high level of soccer some of the players have and she has struggled at times with her touch and the speed of the game.
"But, she has a great attitude and she's a very hard worker so I see a lot of potential from her."
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