The Texas State women’s soccer team has been one of the most successful Bobcat teams this season.
After a rough start of the pre-season and regular season, the Bobcats capitalized when the Sun Belt Conference games rolled around, winning eight of their 10 conference games.
That 8-2 record not only was able to secure the Bobcats the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, but it was also a big step from the 3-5-2 record from last season–a season that many players on this year’s team will not forget.
“A big difference this year is our finishing,” Kassi Hormuth, senior forward, said. “This year we’ve been focusing on that. Aiming for the corners, and ever since we’ve (started) focusing on that, we’ve been putting them away.”
Hormuth was one of the upperclassmen here after the Bobcats finished ninth in the conference, missing the tournament by one game. Over the offseason, the team was able to lick its wounds and came back with more vigor.
“We’ve been super focused and zoned in on what we want to accomplish this year,” Rachel Grout, senior midfielder, said.
According to Hormuth, everything came together this season.
“Good teamwork this year,” Hormuth said. “We all are meshing and playing well together. Good chemistry.”
The team put away many of their opponents this year, outscoring them 22-6 in the conference. Both seniors had something to say when talking about what they wanted this season to be like for them and the team.
“We took our struggles from last year, and just built on them at the end of the season,” Hormuth said. “We just worked on what went wrong last year and tried to fix them this year to make it to the conference tournament.”
The two seniors also worked on their own games during the offseason. After having good seasons last year, both knew they had something to add for their final year as Bobcats.
“Personally, just trying to get everyone involved,” Grout said. “Making everyone feel included so that we have that team chemistry and we can be successful together.”
Hormuth said leadership from the upperclassmen, has helped everyone step up together.
“I think all of us as seniors have stepped up our leadership this year,” Hormuth said. “All of us lead on the field and off the field. I think leadership was a big thing this year. We all lead well and helped the younger ones.”
The good leadership from the senior players have been on display the entire season. On a roster that has 16 underclassmen, the leadership of the veteran players and individuals that have been around the team longer is paramount for team success.
“I think being the underdogs last year, we were wanting to come back from that and prove ourselves,” Grout said. “Especially because we didn’t have a very good pre-season either. Coming back from that and wanting to prove something during the conference and even making it to the tournament is a big deal because that didn’t happen last year.”
The soccer team is a prime example of the resiliency and fight that has become the identity of head soccer coach Kat Conner. Hormuth said having to fight to succeed this season helped the team.
“The fight in our ourselves is what is going to carry us,” Hormuth said. “I think, just wanting to succeed and do better than we did last year.”