U of M women’s soccer team preparing to kick off 15th season

By: Devon Shewchuk Posted: 11:40 AM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019

It’s about to be a big year for the University of Manitoba Bisons women’s soccer team. In addition to celebrating the recent signing of former India national team captain Dalima Chhibber, the program is marking its 15th anniversary.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/08/2019 (1857 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The team is coming off a 6-5-3 season in Canada West play in 2018, where they qualified for the post-season.

The lost in the play-in round to UNBC (1-1; 1-3 in shootout), but hope to improve on that record this year.

Coach Vanessa Martinez Lagunas says the team wants to keep up the strong defence, while working on generating better offence. (Phil Hossack / Free Press files)

Last year, one of the Bisons’ biggest strengths was strong defence. They were best in the league in terms of goals against, breaking their program record for the same stat.

This year, women’s soccer team coach Vanessa Martinez Lagunas says the team wants to keep up the strong defence, while working on generating better offence.

“We want to score more goals. I think that’s what’s going to take us to the next step, to the next level. That’s what we’re working on right now, improving our creation of chances and our last decision, the final passing in the attacking third so we can be more effective in scoring goals,” said Martinez Lagunas.

Another big change Martinez Lagunas is looking for this season is the amount of support at the team’s home games. With games on Friday and Saturday nights about twice a month, it’s a great opportunity for soccer lovers to catch some really talented female soccer players in action.

“They train 20-25 hours each week, it’s more than half of a full-time job. In addition to that, they study and have, of course, their personal life, so I think it’s great what these young women are doing and I really encourage the public to come and watch them play because they play beautifully.”

The team’s first home game is Sept. 6 against the Saskatchewan Huskies at 7 p.m., on West Turf Field at the U of M. The following day the Bisons play the Regina Cougars at 7:30 p.m.

devon.shewchuk@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @devonshewchuk