With several All-Conference players returning, the Jackrabbits women’s soccer team is excited for the upcoming season.
The Jackrabbits began their 2023 season at Fishback Soccer Park in Brookings against Manitoba, bringing home a 4-0 win against the opposing team.
Last year the team finished with a record of 13 wins, one loss, and five draws. This record is one of the best that the program has had since the beginning.
They finished second in the Summit League, falling to Omaha in the semi-final match. They were the last undefeated Division 1 women’s soccer team at the end of the regular season.
Two of the players returning this year were recognized for their achievements in 2022. Mya Hansen earned the conference’s Player of the Year Award, while Jocelyn Tanner was named the Summit League’s Goalkeeper of the Year for the second straight season.
Along with earning the Player of the Year Award, Hansen leads the program in most points scored and is tied for goals scored at 39. Although she earned Player of the Year, Hansen does not have that on her mind when preparing for this season.
“It just makes me excited to play again and get better individually and as a team, I think that’s a cool accolade to have but it’s not always on my mind. But it’s definitely cool and credit to the team as a whole and the coaching staff and just the jackrabbit community,” Hansen said.
During the offseason, Hansen worked on improving her shooting and noticed the positive change from it during her summer season. “I think that made a big difference going into my summer season, I definitely noticed that part of my game had changed,” said Hansen.
Although she has earned the title of Goalkeeper of the Year for two straight seasons, Jocelyn Tanner does not let that affect her mindset for this season.
“I think it’s nothing more than what I’ve always done, focusing on fundamentals, I look at that as a team award,” Tanner said. “Our defense is awesome, so they make my job easy. Being consistent, doing little things, making the standard saves.”
Tanner also knows she has areas to work on in her game as she knows it is not perfected.
“Overall, I want to be more confident coming out of the air on crosses, organizational stuff, just building on what I’ve done,” said Tanner.
The way last season ended left a sour taste in the players mouths. With this in mind, they plan to use it as motivation as they work toward a successful new season.
Tanner spoke about the team’s thoughts and plans for this upcoming season.
“We’re not really a team that sets goals but, I think a lot of us have some revenge in mind. We want that summit league back where it belongs,” said Tanner.
Jackrabbits coach Brock Thompson mentions how even though they had players graduate, they return “seven or eight” of their starting 11 along with newcomers.
Several Jacks’ players earned All-Conference honors and many of them return for this season.
“We have maybe the most returning All-Conference players that we’ve had come back ever, so we’re excited about the players that we have coming back,” said Thompson.
Thompson wants the team to focus on getting better each week than they were before and believes that it will be key to a successful season.
“I think the biggest thing for us is just the consistency that we play at. Soccer is a very unique sport where one kick of the ball could change the outcome of the game,” Thompson said. “Over the course of ninety minutes the players have to play hard with the balance of intensity and intelligence.”
Along with the combination of intensity and intelligence, Thompson has noticed during exhibition games that the team’s maturity will be key this season.
“When we played Nebraska and Kansas last weekend, I thought the maturity of our team really showed and we stepped on the field and expected to be the best team on the field,” said Thompson.
The team took a different approach in their training this year leading up to their first game. They focused on how they were training from a strength, conditioning, and periodization standpoint with the team.
Although coach Thompson said the team does not set goals, they plan to focus on another important aspect of the team.
“We embrace our values which are growth, being a family, and demonstrating mental toughness, so really, we are focused on the process each day.”
