Confidence and team chemistry are vital parts of any team, and The University of Memphis women's soccer team believes it has found the right balance.
The Lady Tigers begin their Conference USA schedule this Friday against Tulane University, and will try to rebound from Sunday's tough loss.
Southeast Missouri State won 1-0 in Cape Girardeau, Mo., this weekend, getting the goal in the last minute of double overtime.
"The last loss was just one of those games where we couldn't finish our chances," said head coach Brooks Monaghan. "But we're not going to put our heads down because we have to use (the loss) to motivate us."
He said the team has worked well since then and believes any mistakes have been fixed.
"That last minute of the game really hurt," said junior midfielder Nicky McLeod. "We still have some things to work on but the loss makes us more hungry for Friday."
Shoko Mikami, who scored three goals in the team's 5-1 win Sept. 18 at Middle Tennessee State, said the team is working hard on defense and working to generate more scoring chances.
The team has 14 freshmen on the roster this season, so experience is key to helping out the younger players.
"We've got a very young team, but we feel like we're continuing to improve," Monaghan said. "Everyone is very close off the field, so that helps out on the field."
Isabel Briones, sophomore goalkeeper, said teammates have worked hard to gain mutual respect for one another, which makes their chemistry unique off the field.
She compared the situation to a scene in the recent hockey film "Miracle" in which the players always asked to be treated as a team.
In terms of the upcoming C-USA play, the team and coach Monaghan feel the team is close to reaching its best play of the season.
"We're definitely confident going into conference play," he said. "We're not at our peak yet, but I think we'll get there soon."
McLeod said there is so much more at stake during C-USA play and believes the schedule so far has prepared the team well. She added that the team is focusing on concentrating throughout games as part of the team's goal to play consistently enough to win the conference title.
"The competition level we've faced so far has really helped us prepare for the teams we're going to face during conference play," Monaghan said.
The Lady Tigers play Friday at 7 p.m. at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex followed by a Sunday home game against UTEP at 1 p.m.
