University of Georgia Athletics
Dogs Gaining Valuable Experience This Spring
March 24, 2016 | Soccer
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By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Sitting in his office at the Turner Soccer Complex on Monday, Georgia women's soccer coach Billy Lesesne was asked about his team's spring exhibition against South Carolina on Saturday.
It was the second of the Bulldogs' six games during spring practice. The first, on March 1, resulted in a 1-1 draw with Georgia State. The second, against an SEC rival, didn't go as well.
"We got punished. ... When we made mistakes they made us pay for them," Lesesne said of the 4-1 loss to a Gamecocks squad that went 12-5-3 last season. "It was good to see."
Of course he didn't enjoy seeing his team get beat, but you can learn a heck of a lot more a 4-1 loss than you can a 4-1 win. And spring is the time for learning, especially when you're starting year two with a new coaching staff and playing a lot of Bulldogs that saw the field little or not at all last season.
"It's experiential learning and you've got to put yourself in those situations," Lesesne said.
The great thing about spring soccer, unlike spring football which doesn't allow for exhibitions, is that the Bulldogs can try different things against outside competition. Georgia plays Auburn in Decatur, Ga., next Wednesday and still has games remaining against UNC-Wilmington, Virginia Tech and Kennesaw State (in Athens on April 23).
In Lesesne's first season Georgia went 5-12-1 (4-7 SEC), with seven of those losses by one goal.
"Looking back on our season, there's very few games where I'm like, `Wow, we got outplayed.' But there's those games where we ended up losing 1-0 or 2-1," said Caroline Waters, who switched from forward to center back last season and was named second-team All-SEC.
Those tight games last season, Waters said, were decided during short stretches when focus lapsed and mistakes were made.
"It's just we let our guard down and for 90 seconds and that's the 90 seconds that dictate the score and the result," she said. "For upcoming seasons we definitely need to make sure we maintain for all 90 minutes, and not back down at all."
From late September on, Georgia raised its game a few notches. On Sept. 27, the Bulldogs upset No. 4 Texas A&M, 2-1, for one of the biggest wins in program history. On Oct. 25, Georgia went to Auburn and knocked off the No. 16 Tigers, 1-0, which helped the Dogs qualify for the SEC Tournament.
As a whole the season wasn't what any of the Bulldogs wanted, but it certainly gave all of them a glimpse into what they can do if they put all the pieces together.
"It almost made the season even more frustrating because it's not like we were just losing to everyone," forward Marion Crowder said. "The teams that were the hardest we were beating and playing well and delivering great performances."
Those performances have provided fuel for winter workout and spring practice. A bar has now been set.
"You always hear the phrase, `the offseason is when you win championships,' and that's especially true in a conference where the hard work and the grinding work and the nitty-gritty, dirty, blue-collar work is what matters," Crowder said.
One thing Georgia is working on this spring is fine-tuning its attack. Crowder led the Bulldogs last season with four goals. As a team Georgia scored 16, while allowing 31.
"We need a double-digit goal scorer and then if we spread it around with other players I think we'll be in good shape," Lesesne said. "We had to really do some things defensively last year to cover up some areas, so that made it more difficult to get forward. We started to figure some of those things out toward the end of the year and our backs started to jell more.
"We continue to work in the final third, to be more efficient there. We weren't on Saturday, but we did create some decent chances."
Crowder said she likes to effort she's seen since the end of the last season and the experimentation Georgia has been trying this spring.
"The good thing about spring is it's trial and error and it provides opportunities to work out some stuff," the rising senior said. "But I genuinely think that the break is just on the horizon and it's again that conscious effort of, that didn't work today so let's try something else. Let's figure out a way to improve."
Which is what spring is all about in the first place.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: hFrierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.