SE: K-State Soccer Encouraged by Preseason Progress
Aug 16, 2021 | Soccer, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Let's just rip the Band-Aid off - Thursday's 2-1 win over South Dakota State and the 1-1 draw against Wyoming on Sunday were exhibition matches for K-State Soccer.
The Wildcats wore their practice jerseys and did things like rotate goalkeepers at halftime that aren't going to happen once the regular season begins.
But if you're looking for positives in the process, there was plenty to like for the Wildcats and their head coach.
"I felt like we outplayed Wyoming," Mike Dibbini said on Sunday afternoon. "They punished us on a defensive lapse, but we just got done playing a match on the road, traveled back and they had fresh legs. Any result on a Sunday after you've played during the week is a good thing for us."
The games don't count, but both exhibition matches followed a similar script for K-State Soccer.
The Wildcats fell behind and trailed past the 79th minute. A tough position for any team, and historically, a problem for K-State Soccer.
Last season, the Wildcats never managed to pull back a result from a losing position. In their first five seasons, K-State has only come back from down a goal or more once, a 2-1 win over Iowa State at Buser Family Park in 2019.
With a new season beginning on Thursday, they've done it twice in four days.
"One thing I've noticed about this team: we've got some grit," Dibbini said. "It's an exhibition match, so it gives us a lot of things to go back and do our homework on and the things we need to get better at."
The preseason has also been an opportunity for the Wildcats to build synergy between the team's returning core and a talented group of freshmen and transfers.
Seventeen members of K-State Soccer have arrived in Manhattan since the 2020 season ended. Only three - Aliyah El-Naggar, Kursten von Klahr and Jael Larson - were here in the spring.
"It's one thing to play your team over and over again and just scrimmage each other, it's another to play other teams that are awesome in their conference," El-Naggar said. "It gives us an opportunity to figure out what kind of formations we want to play and build more relationships on the field with each other."
On Sunday, K-State had five newcomers in the starting lineup. There were plenty of moments that highlighted the growing understanding between the Wildcats.
Kyler Goins, so often deployed as a forward in 2020, started in midfield against Wyoming.
Pulling the strings as a No. 10 for the Wildcats, she freed up the newly arrived Roo Yarnell-Williams and Porter List to make threatening runs into the box throughout the afternoon.
When Marisa Weichel and Maddie Weichel entered the game late in the first half - some chemistry you just can't teach - the sisters helped keep K-State on the front foot. But after falling behind 1-0 and beginning to chase the game, the Wildcats got their breakthrough courtesy of El-Naggar.
"She's fiery and she's got the mindset and the motor to go both ways," Dibbini said. "We're excited that's she part of our program and she's got even more potential to keep growing."
The goal came after Marisa Weichel collected a Wyoming turnover in midfield and played in El-Naggar as she slipped behind the Cowgirl defense.
"I was a little nervous because she hit the back of my foot, and I was like, 'I'm either going to fall or shoot the ball.' So, I tried shooting and thought I missed the goal, but it went in," El-Naggar said. "It felt great to get that goal for our team."
If it wasn't clear from lying face down on the grass after she fired home the equalizer, El-Naggar only scored that goal after an empty-the-tank, lung-busting run in the 85th minute.
Throughout the non-conference schedule, the Wildcats will need more moments like that to grind out results on short rest. K-State begins the 2021 season with matches against Weber State and Omaha on Thursday and Sunday in Manhattan, before playing five matches in two weeks, all of them away from Buser Family Park.
More than any preseason result, El-Naggar's mindset is one worth holding onto.
"I just wanted to do it for my team," she said. "You know what? They worked their butts off for me, so I'm going to work it off for them."
Let's just rip the Band-Aid off - Thursday's 2-1 win over South Dakota State and the 1-1 draw against Wyoming on Sunday were exhibition matches for K-State Soccer.
The Wildcats wore their practice jerseys and did things like rotate goalkeepers at halftime that aren't going to happen once the regular season begins.
But if you're looking for positives in the process, there was plenty to like for the Wildcats and their head coach.
Back in Buser, and it's awesome #KStateSOC pic.twitter.com/YG18HPW63j
— K-State Soccer (@KStateSOC) August 15, 2021
"I felt like we outplayed Wyoming," Mike Dibbini said on Sunday afternoon. "They punished us on a defensive lapse, but we just got done playing a match on the road, traveled back and they had fresh legs. Any result on a Sunday after you've played during the week is a good thing for us."
The games don't count, but both exhibition matches followed a similar script for K-State Soccer.
The Wildcats fell behind and trailed past the 79th minute. A tough position for any team, and historically, a problem for K-State Soccer.
Last season, the Wildcats never managed to pull back a result from a losing position. In their first five seasons, K-State has only come back from down a goal or more once, a 2-1 win over Iowa State at Buser Family Park in 2019.
With a new season beginning on Thursday, they've done it twice in four days.
"One thing I've noticed about this team: we've got some grit," Dibbini said. "It's an exhibition match, so it gives us a lot of things to go back and do our homework on and the things we need to get better at."
The preseason has also been an opportunity for the Wildcats to build synergy between the team's returning core and a talented group of freshmen and transfers.
Seventeen members of K-State Soccer have arrived in Manhattan since the 2020 season ended. Only three - Aliyah El-Naggar, Kursten von Klahr and Jael Larson - were here in the spring.
"It's one thing to play your team over and over again and just scrimmage each other, it's another to play other teams that are awesome in their conference," El-Naggar said. "It gives us an opportunity to figure out what kind of formations we want to play and build more relationships on the field with each other."
On Sunday, K-State had five newcomers in the starting lineup. There were plenty of moments that highlighted the growing understanding between the Wildcats.
"I just want to do it for my team... they worked their butts off for me so I want to work it off for them."
— K-State Soccer (@KStateSOC) August 15, 2021
👟➡️⚽️🥅 Aliyah El-Naggar #KStateSOC x #RiseWithUS21 pic.twitter.com/7u3iF4Wsau
Kyler Goins, so often deployed as a forward in 2020, started in midfield against Wyoming.
Pulling the strings as a No. 10 for the Wildcats, she freed up the newly arrived Roo Yarnell-Williams and Porter List to make threatening runs into the box throughout the afternoon.
When Marisa Weichel and Maddie Weichel entered the game late in the first half - some chemistry you just can't teach - the sisters helped keep K-State on the front foot. But after falling behind 1-0 and beginning to chase the game, the Wildcats got their breakthrough courtesy of El-Naggar.
"She's fiery and she's got the mindset and the motor to go both ways," Dibbini said. "We're excited that's she part of our program and she's got even more potential to keep growing."
The goal came after Marisa Weichel collected a Wyoming turnover in midfield and played in El-Naggar as she slipped behind the Cowgirl defense.
"I was a little nervous because she hit the back of my foot, and I was like, 'I'm either going to fall or shoot the ball.' So, I tried shooting and thought I missed the goal, but it went in," El-Naggar said. "It felt great to get that goal for our team."
If it wasn't clear from lying face down on the grass after she fired home the equalizer, El-Naggar only scored that goal after an empty-the-tank, lung-busting run in the 85th minute.
Throughout the non-conference schedule, the Wildcats will need more moments like that to grind out results on short rest. K-State begins the 2021 season with matches against Weber State and Omaha on Thursday and Sunday in Manhattan, before playing five matches in two weeks, all of them away from Buser Family Park.
More than any preseason result, El-Naggar's mindset is one worth holding onto.
"I just wanted to do it for my team," she said. "You know what? They worked their butts off for me, so I'm going to work it off for them."
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