Sept. 10, 2003
CLEVELAND - In the grand scheme of things, Tuesday afternoon for the Cleveland State women's soccer team was both a big event and a small one as team members got together on the soccer practice field for an a 90-minute practice.
The terms 'team' and "women's soccer' have not been used together in any capacity until Tuesday afternoon, when eight student-athletes who are interested in being women's soccer pioneers for the Vikings stepped onto the field together for the first time in program history.
Unlike their men's counterpart, which is celebrating its 50th season of existence, these Vikings aren't slated to begin competing as an intercollegiate team until next fall.
Head coach Derrek Falor, who is overseeing the formation of the program, will use the next 11 months to continue to form the Viking squad. He is actively recruiting Ohio, looking for the rest of the pieces to the team that will come to campus next fall and play.
"It was great stepping onto the field today," Falor said. "Last February (when I was hired), there was me, myself and I. Now I see some identifiable progress and it was a significent moment. The energy that came with starting the program up has created some interest, and it is something to build on."
As workouts go, it was really just the basics -- a few drills, a little touchwork and some fundamentals. There weren't enough players to hold a full-field scrimmage, so Falor and assistant Lauren Geiger joined in at the end of the session for a game of five-v-five.
"As practices go, it was pretty ugly," Falor added. "We aren't in very good conditioning right now, we aren't used to playing with each other and we are a little bit rusty. A few of the young women have played collegiately before so I was happy that we have some skills to work with."
Although their first game is just under a year away, the women's soccer team will continue practicing for the rest of the fall on Krenzler Field, trying to put some of the bricks into the foundation of what will be the first Viking women's soccer team.
"We only had eight players out today, but that will grow to 13 or 14 tomorrow and then to as many as 20 or 25 in the next week or so. We will continue to try to identify as many players as possible who can help us next fall."
