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Brewer said the team is taking to the system change well. The coaches are also encouraging the players to be more aggressive and do less of what Brewer calls “pass and watch.” The shift to a more aggressive mindset is a change from last year’s emphasis on time of possession. The team’s goals for the fall include the usual winning the conference tournament and regular season title, as well as having a winning season. Another goal Brewer set is to blend the group into a team that plays hard BRAYDEN ASH for each other. Brewer said he likes the incoming recruitSports Reporter ing class. He has known the class for a few @Brady_A_Ash years now and expects them to have strength The Missouri State women’s soccer team in numbers to fend off the jitters of being looks to improve on a solid 2019 season this new players on the team. year. Head coach Rob Brewer said he is very “The new class is very motivated and athexcited for the season to start. letic,” Brewer said. “I’m a little unsure of “We have 13 or 14 returners who have how some of them will react to missing their started for us in the past,” Brewer said. “We high school season, but I think they will come also have a very strong recruiting class with in hungry because of that.” The COVID-19 pandemic has caused big nine new players.” Brewer expects the new class to elevate changes in the Bears normal offseason the play of the returners by increasing the schedule. Four of the team’s five scheduled spring games were canceled when Missouri State canceled all athletic events for the remainder of the semester. The game was against the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The team has adapted by deeply dissecting the film of that one game and meeting with each player to review it. “It has been tough not being able to be around the players,” Brewer said. “We have had several meetings on Microsoft Teams, a program similar to Zoom, to stay in touch and to review film.” Brewer expects several returners to step into leadership roles, both on and off the field. Goalkeeper Kaitlin Maxwell, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference File photo/THE STANDARD Goalkeeper of the Year award winner, is returning for a fifth Senior midfielder Emma Skornia fights for a season as a redshirt senior and she loose ball during a game against the Illinois understands the importance of State Redbirds on Oct. 25, 2019. leadership. Brewer said junior Midfielder competition for play time. Anna Durnin was “at times quite often our The Bears finished last season with a re- best player on the field in the fall.” He said cord of 11-5-2. A 4-3 overtime loss to Illinois Durnin has progressed recently and is exState in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley pected to really establish herself in her poConference Tournament ended their season. sition. Brewer and the other coaches have impleThere are several incoming players who mented a big system change for the upcom- Brewer also expects to make an impact. ing season. Among them are Dragana Andonovski and “The lineup will start the same, but we Ingrid Perkins. Andonovski was on campus will be interchanging players in different in the spring, so she has been in the weight positions,” Brewer said. “For example, we room and in team practices. Brewer said Percan put someone who usually plays outside kins is a “cold-blooded goal scorer,” who he forward in at outside back or vice versa. This is excited to see in action. has already opened up more offensive opporThe Bears plan to start play with exhibitunities for us.” tion matches in September.
Women’s soccer moving to improve in 2020
SPORTS & RECREATION | BACK TO CAMPUS GUIDE | AUGUST 2020 | • 83
