Maltman pleased with steps Cougars took
The University of Regina Cougars’ performance may not have matched that of the previous season, but head coach Bob Maltman is convinced his team made progress during the 2013 Canada West women’s soccer season.
“We took a step forward in the sense that the program has, for two years in a row now, qualified for playoffs,” Maltman said Monday. “If we had talked about that a few years ago, you’d have been smiling and I’d be considered optimistic. But that to me is a step forward.
“We’re more consistent in our ability to make the playoffs. We could easily have gone the other way and not made the playoffs — and if that had happened, we would have been a one-hit wonder. By making the playoffs, we’re giving ourselves an opportunity to be consistent opponents as well.”
In 2012, the Cougars finished the regular season with an 8-3-1 record, good for fourth place in the standings.
Regina won the right to play host to a quarterfinal for the first time in program history and defeated the Saskatchewan Huskies to earn a spot in the Canada West Final Four — another first for the U of R. The Cougars lost both of their games in the Final Four, but they laid a solid foundation.
The 2013 Cougars went 5-5-2 in the regular season and finished eighth in the standings to claim the conference’s final playoff spot. In a quarterfinal Friday, Regina visited the first-place Victoria Vikes, whose 5-1 victory ended the Cougars’ season.
“As a group, we did some very good things through the course of the season, especially in terms of players who didn’t play as much in prior years,” Maltman said. “We all appreciate that there are things we need to do to build on this year. We have to be more consistent game to game.
“I’m happy with the players. Their work ethic is great and they’re a great group of people. We just have to work on our technical, tactical awareness under pressure, which I thought was lacking against the teams that ended up in the top three of the league. “We’re not that far away.” Maltman would like to see the Cougars be more aware of what it takes mentally to excel in a conference filled with tough teams. He believes that improvement can be made at practices and in games.
He also is hoping to provide them with more opportunities to play off-season games against high-quality opponents. To that end, fundraising must be done to help offset the expenses that arise from that.
As well, the Cougars likely will participate again in Saskatchewan Soccer Association’s 11-a-side league, which is to start in January. That will give Maltman a chance to see in action the Cougars’ younger players who may not have received much playing time this season as well as potential recruits for the future.
Regina had three players — forwards Adrianna Bonutti and Meagan Cormier as well as midfielder Jessica Meyer — exhaust their five seasons of CIS eligibility in 2013 and other players may move on before next season due to employment opportunities.
If potential replacements aren’t already on the roster, Maltman will try to find them via recruiting.
“Meagan is a player who obviously had great success with the program and was a great ambassador for the program,” the head coach said. “In the (exit) meetings we’ve had, we’ve discussed how players will have to find a way to collectively surpass her contributions to the program.
“It’d be difficult for a person to walk in and say, ‘I’m going to outperform her.’ But we have players who collectively can step up and put the ball in the back of the net. I also have to go find young players who can contribute in the future.”
The Cougars’ past successes have raised expectations in the program, on the U of R campus and in the soccer community. That’s fine by Maltman, who wants his team to reach higher.
“Now we know we can consistently make the playoffs,” he said. “But if we wish to move beyond just getting to the playoffs and be a consistent Final Four team — or better yet get past that level — we have to find a way to get past the teams that are consistently there with us.”