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ARCATA, Calif. – Following a difficult road trip to St. George, Utah, Humboldt State women's soccer returns to the North Coast focused on returning to form. The Lumberjacks host the Coyotes of Cal State San Bernardino Friday (12:30 p.m.) and the Broncos of Cal Poly Pomona Sunday (11:30 a.m.).
HSU went 0-2 last weekend against Dixie State and Colorado Mesa.
"This past weekend was tough," said Head Coach
Paul Karver. "We took steps back, but that's always to be expected with a young group. You're going to take a couple steps forward, one step back. As long as you're always taking more steps forward than you are back then you'll be all right."
The Lumberjacks (1-4) have managed just one goal in five games. Freshman
Alex Dumas continues to impress in goal, and she has tallied 22 saves in 469 minutes.
"A lot of this week is more than just dialing in the details of training, it's now rebuilding confidence from what was a very difficult preseason," said Karver. "Now we have to rebuild confidence, we have to get prepared mentally, physically, and emotionally for the matches of the CCAA. The good news is there's nothing our team hasn't seen. There were no cupcake matches – nothing soft. Now they know that every single time that they come out they have to prepare."
The Coyotes are coming off a 2-1 victory over Regis after beginning the season with three consecutive losses. San Bernardino presents a balanced offensive attack with each of its three goals coming from a different scorer.
"San Bernardino had a really similar preseason to us. They went out and scheduled the most difficult opponents they could possibly have," said Karver. "They got a win in their final game of the preseason weekend, so our records are very similar from that standpoint. They are athletic, strong and very well coached."
Cal Poly Pomona enters the week winless, but it will face Azusa Pacific and Sonoma State before HSU. Cal Baptist and Cal Poly Pomona combined for 41 shots in the Broncos' 3-0 loss last Thursday.
"The Broncos are a bit of a mystery," said Karver. "It's a new staff there, and they brought in some new players. They've had some good results in preseason. We expect them to be a very strong challenge, but on a Sunday game nothing matters. It doesn't matter the quality of the opponent, it doesn't matter how good you're playing. A Sunday game is all about heart and grit, and we think we have a lot of that. So we could really come away with two big wins this weekend if we play our cards right."
