The Panthers begin the 2014 regular season on Thursday when they face BYU-Hawaii at 9 p.m. ET in Laie, Hawaii. (Florida Tech image)
Women’s Soccer Begins 2014 Regular Season in Hawaii
WOMEN’S SOCCER — The 2014 regular season is here for the Florida Tech Panthers.
The squad has made the 4,794 mile journey to the island of Oahu, Hawaii, and will open the season by taking on BYU-Hawaii on Thursday, Sept. 4. The Panthers will then face Hawaii Pacific on Saturday, Sept. 6.
The Panthers defeated Eastern Florida State 5-2 in their lone exhibition game, and also took home two victories in preseason scrimmages.
Fidgi Haig
“Overall I think we did very well preparing for our first game on Thursday,” head coach Fidgi Haig said.
“There is nothing like a regular season match, so really that will be the big test to see how we do. We are looking forward to it.”
Haig begins his 10th season as head coach of the Panthers. So far, he has a career record of 90-51-24 over the past nine seasons.
The Panthers return 28 players from last season’s squad that finished with a 12-6-2 record, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In addition to the returning players, the Panthers welcomed seven newcomers who have used the preseason to get acclimated to the program.
Sophomore Eva Banton, above, scored two goals, as the Panthers defeated Eastern Florida State 5-2 in an exhibition earlier this year. (Florida Tech image)
“I think the newcomers did very well in the preseason matches,” Haig said.
“However, I will say that preseason exhibition games are not the same level of intensity that regular season games are, but so far so good. We cannot wait to see how they do in a regular season game.”
BYU-Hawaii finished the 2013 season with a 9-4-2 overall record, and an 8-3-1 mark in the PacWest Conference. Eight starters return for the Seasiders this season. The Seasiders defeated St. Thomas Aquinas 5-0 in their lone exhibition game of the preseason.
Hawaii Pacific will open its 2014 regular season on Saturday against the Panthers. The Sharks finished the 2013 season with a 7-8-2 overall record, and compiled a 5-5-2 PacWest record.
“These are the trips that will make us better at the end of the season,” Haig said.
“We have to adjust to the long flights, and playing away in a different environment. At the end of the day, the rules are the same; we will just have to adjust to their style of play. We cannot control the weather or the opponent, but we can control how we play, and that is what we will focus on.”
Kickoff for Thursday’s match against BYU-Hawaii is set for 9 p.m. ET. Live stats will be available courtesy of BYU-Hawaii at here. Saturday’s game against Hawaii-Pacific is also set for 9 p.m. eastern time.
Panthers Host St. Thomas Thursday to Open 2014 Regular Season
MEN’S SOCCER — The Florida Tech Panthers begin the 2014 regular season this Thursday when they host the Bobcats of St. Thomas. Thursday will be the first of two matches this week for the Panthers, as they will travel to face Coker College on Saturday.
Robin Chan
“I think we found out a lot about the group during the preseason, and we are pretty happy with where we are at so far,” head coach Robin Chan said.
“We have some questions that we still need to find about the group, and we still need to prepare for some situations that we have yet to see. We know we have some adversity that we will have to overcome as a group, but at the moment we are in a good place health wise, mentally, and physically.”
The Panthers are looking to rebound after they posted a 5-9-1 record last season. The squad defeated NCAA Division I Stetson 1-0 in their lone exhibition match of the preseason. The Panthers return 19 players including six starters from last year’s squad, and welcomed seven newcomers.
The Panthers open the 2014 regular season Thursday night by hosting St. Thomas at 7 p.m. (Florida Tech image)
“We have a talented freshman class this year, along with Trey Collins who is a graduate student,” Chan said. “They are good characters, very positive, and they are ready to work hard. We are happy with where they are at, and we think there will be good contributions from that class of players.”
St. Thomas (0-2), a NAIA program, enters Thursday night with two matches already under its belt. The Bobcats fell 3-2 to Texas Wesleyan back on Aug. 23, and suffered a 1-0 defeat to Middle Georgia State College on Monday.
“Thursday’s game is important from a confidence and momentum standpoint,” Chan said. “It is our opening home game and we want to get off to a good start this season. We know that it is going to be a challenge since they have had a good preseason as well. We feel like we are going in with a real positive mindset, and if we focus on hitting our marks in terms of what we are trying to accomplish during the game, we can get a positive result.”
Coker will open its season on Thursday when they host Emmanuel (Ga.). The Cobras finished the 2103 season with a 9-5-3 overall record, and were picked to finish sixth this season in the South Atlantic Conference.
“The game against Coker is a regional game for us, and usually it is a very close game,” Chan said.
“We are traveling and it will be a chance for the boys to get away, and for us to bond a little bit more as a group, which will be valuable. We have set some marks for ourselves in these opening few games, and Coker is a game that we will be looking for to get a result.”
Coker will open its season on Thursday when they host Emmanuel (Ga.). The Cobras finished the 2103 season with a 9-5-3 overall record, and were picked to finish sixth this season in the South Atlantic Conference.
