Apr. 27—OTTUMWA — What type of team does the Ottumwa High School girls soccer team want to be this season?
That’s the question first-year head coach Matthew Erlandson posed to the Bulldogs on Friday evening as the team sat on the turf at Schafer Stadium following a 9-0 CIML loss to Urbandale. The J-Hawks, a team with a losing record entering the match, nearly earned a third consecutive 10-0 mercy-rule win in the series with Ottumwa, a team coming off what appeared to be a breakthrough initial win eight days earlier against Oskaloosa.
Just 18 seconds into Friday’s match, however, the Bulldogs were brought back down to earth. Lucy Uetz capped off the first attack by scoring a sudden goal, setting the tone for a night in which the J-Hawks took 39 of the 40 shots in the match including 25 shots on goal.
“I think the team is still struggling with its identity,” Erlandson said. “We had a phenomenal practice one night earlier doing all the things that we talked about doing, then we came out here in 18 seconds we watched (Urbandale) walk down the field and score a goal.
“We have to figure out mentally who we are and what we want out of the season. It’s just part of playing sports. The hardest part is between your ears.”
Mia Garza was able to score a pair of goals for the Bulldogs in their CIML Metro conference opener on Tuesday night at Des Moines East. Despite those goals, the Scarlets came away with the 5-2 win handing Ottumwa a second straight loss after what seemed to be a breakthrough initial win almost two weeks ago.
“I think there’s some stigma in their mind from playing some of the Des Moines schools,” Erlandson said. “They think these teams always beat us because we’re just Ottumwa. What I’m trying to get the girls to believe is that we are Ottumwa and we can play good soccer.
“Our soccer IQ still isn’t quite as high as some of these teams that have been playing together and playing soccer longer. I talk with the girls all the time when I pull them off and go over them with what their position entails and where they need to be on the field. I can see them picking up on it. They do exactly what I tell them. It just takes time to learn situational awareness and learn where you need to be, how do you get there and how do you anticipate being there.”
Ottumwa (1-8, 0-1 CIML Metro) hosts Chariton in a non-conference match on Thursday night. Varsity action will kick off at Eric Wertheim Field, due to a rescheduled Evans Middle School track and field meet being held at Schafer Stadium, at approximately 7 p.m.
— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.
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