Bulldogs homesick on recent roadtrips

 Imagine traveling to Laramie, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles and Malibu all in the same month.

For most, this sounds like a pretty good getaway.

Gonzaga women's soccer has been to all these places and back in the past 30 days but would not likely describe the trips as vacations.

Over the six-game stretch, the Bulldogs went 0-6-0, losing by a combined score of 17-4. Gonzaga has not lost six straight since 2002, when it dropped seven consecutive matches as part of a one-win October. The 7-0 loss in Portland during this year's stretch was the largest margin of defeat since an 8-0 loss to Washington State in 2002.

"It's been frustrating. We've definitely had chances, but other teams are capitalizing and we are not," said senior midfielder Lori Conrad.

The Bulldogs had late rallies fall short against Washington, Portland State and Loyola Marymount before dropping a heartbreaker to Pepperdine on Oct. 18. The Waves came crashing down with goals in the 81st and 85th minutes to steal a 2-1 victory at home.

For Gonzaga, the road trip highlighted inconsistent play from half-to-half.
"It takes us a while to realize we can play with these top teams, but we need to go in with that mind-set," said senior defender Christi D'Agostino.

Creating such a mindset is especially difficult considering the unusually high number of injuries and illnesses among players. These have caused head coach Amy Edwards to use personnel in positions they do not normally play, including moving Conrad from midfielder to outside back.
"You can be switched at a moment's notice, so you always have to be aware of what's going on around you," Conrad said.

Edwards pointed out the difficulty as a player of having different team members on a given line during the game. Having to account for this has proved to be tough for a coach that relies on frequent substitutions as part of the offensive strategy.

"We're already lacking some depth, but we're not going to become victims [of the injuries and illnesses]," Edwards said.
The Bulldogs are learning from the tough road swing and focusing on the last five games of the season.

Even though they stumbled into and through the first part of conference play, Edwards noticed several positives.

"There are times of brilliance with this group. I've been told by opposing coaches that we do pressure them, and they believe we are on the right track to be successful," Edwards said. "We need to get some results for our effort. We need to become dangerous."
With an aggressive offensive strategy and players giving it their all for 90 minutes, Gonzaga could easily be an unnerving opponent.

"No. 1 is intensity," Conrad said. "We need to be ready to show up and play, not pick a half to get going."

Another part of the plan for improvement consists of a commitment to apply concepts learned in film study to the games. Players are focusing on taking accountability for mistakes and making the right decision to follow up a bad play.

"In video, it's easier to see the mistakes. We're focusing on [the entire play that] leads up to them," D'Agostino said.
Gonzaga has five more games to make these adjustments before season's end. The Bulldogs will benefit from easier competition and playing at home for three of the final five matches, but the memory of a six-game losing streak has taught them a valuable lesson.

"We learned that we can't take any game lightly," Conrad said. "It's going to take a lot of determination and focus to turn the season around."

"Right now all of our focus in on San Francisco and Friday night. We're excited about being home," Edwards said.