By Heather Monahan
Assistant Features Editor
After winning its last three non-conference games, the women’s soccer (3-8-1) team lost its first two Atlantic 10 games this past weekend. Today at 3 p.m., the Bonnies take on Temple (3-7-2) before playing Saint Joseph’s (5-4-1) at home on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Head coach Manoj Khettry said the team is preparing for both games to be tough.
“Temple’s a pretty defense oriented team,” Khettry said. “They’ll play 4-5-1 and look to counter attack so we just have to do a good job of keeping the ball. We have to do a good job of creating chances and ultimately we have to score. If we don’t score and they hang around, they’re a really dangerous team because as the game progresses, they’ll get stronger and stronger.”
Khettry said St. Joe’s has been playing well and is prepared for a hard game against them.
Maureen Madden, a redshirt senior defender, agreed both games will be tough, but she is looking forward to them.
“I feel excited to prove that we, once again, are strong contenders for the A-10 tournament,” Madden said. “We expect both of them to be very competitive and to come out strong. There is no team in the conference we can take lightly.”
Due to La Salle’s home field being a small turf field compared to McGraw-Jennings field, the team had to change their tactics to prepare and now Khettry said the team is focused on getting back to their regular playing style.
“I’ve tried to take some pressure off the players and get them to understand the only game that matters is Temple,” Khettry said.
Khettry said he has been getting players to focus on their practices. After several successful practices this week, he feels confident in the team’s ability.
“That (good training) usually means we’ll play pretty well on Friday,” Khettry said. “Then we’ll go from there.”
Madden said the team has also been working on staying positive and learning from its mistakes in past games.
“We need goals, so shooting has been a priority but we also must come to play for the full 90 minutes,” Madden said. “Playing at home is always fun and we take pride in representing Bonaventure.”
Khettry said he has been impressed with his team’s ability to stay positive.
“We don’t practice like a team with three wins, we don’t act like a team with three wins,” Khettry said. “I don’t see people hanging their heads and not playing with confidence. I think that’s because they know we have enough talent, we just haven’t scored goals or we haven’t won games”
Madden said team strength is their culture.
“We work hard for each other and all have the same goal in mind,” Madden said. “A-10 champions.”
With only eight spots in the A-10 tournament, Khettry said they’d like to keep their streak of being one of three teams to qualify four years in a row.
“I think our players understand that they want to keep that streak alive,” Khettry said.
Khettry said he’s confident the team will be able to achieve their goal.
“The thing I’ve traditionally seen with our team is we tend to be at our best when our backs are against the wall,” Khettry said.
Despite the losses last weekend, Khettry said he was pleased with the way the team played on Friday and is very proud of them.
“They (LaSalle) have been picked to finish third but they’re probably one of the two or three best teams in the conference,” Khettry said. “We’re not happy that we lost, and I know we’re disappointed, but I’m really proud of our performance and how hard we played.”
Khettry said he felt the team lacked the competitiveness they needed against Fordham on Sunday.
“The Friday and Sunday schedule is really difficult and grueling, especially on the road,” Khettry said. “I think we expended so much energy Friday that we just didn’t have a whole lot left on Sunday.”
Madden said that while they’re disappointed with the losses, they’re not going to hang their heads.
“We’ve been in this position before and responded positively. I have full confidence we can do the same this year,” Madden said. “Our playing has improved so much since the beginning of the season.”
Madden also said the team knows anything can happen in conference play.
“This season is far from over and we are excited to get back into things this weekend,” Madden said.
