As the regular season for many Houghton Intercollegiate sports teams winds down, some are gearing up for continued competition in Florida. Houghton’s volleyball team has already secured their trip, but both the men’s and women’s soccer teams are looking to join them in the upcoming week after competing in qualifying matches.
The volleyball team made their first appearance since 2006 in the Empire 8 conference postseason when they competed against top seeded Stevens Tech in Hoboken, New Jersey earlier this month. Head coach, Nancy Cole said, “We set a goal of making it to our conference tournament when we found out we were eligible this year.” Cole also elaborated on the excitement stating, “Our seniors have worked so hard knowing they would never play past regular season, and being granted this opportunity in their last year is very exciting.”
Though the Highlanders were unable to get past Stevens Tech and continue in the Empire 8 conference, they are now focused on competing in Florida for the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) postseason tournament, comprised of Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada. Cole said the driving force force behind the team’s success is the group “has chosen to be all in and support each other.”
Junior, Jessie Hayner also commented that the team has needed to come together to make it to the postseason. “It’s been a real team effort, and we’ve had a lot of players in different positions to be successful this year,” she said. “Right now we’re focusing on the basics and getting back to conditioning to be most ready for the teams we will play. This team has made the decision to work hard and finds a way to do it together.”
Also striving to reach the tournament in Florida are both the men’s and women’s soccer teams. Both have the potential to advance and compete in Florida if their qualifying games tomorrow end favorably.
David Lewis, head coach for the woman’s soccer team, explained that they will play the winners of the match between Lancaster Bible College and Roberts Wesleyan College. Though the break between the end of regular season and the East Regional Final game, which determines whether the team will travel to Florida, is nearly three weeks, Coach Lewis said the focus throughout the season remains the same, “To improve our game and play a quality style of possession soccer.” The women’s team is comprised of many new faces as well, and Lewis cites the ability to play in sync with one another as one of the top goals this season. Lewis stated the team “is exhibiting a new confidence and peaking at the right time.” The women’s team will play at Houghton tomorrow, Nov. 22 at 1:00 p.m. where the winner will advance to the National Tournament as the East Region representative.
The men’s team will also compete in qualifying games to determine their eligibility to play in post season competition. If the team can win their game against Roberts Wesleyan College tomorrow in Rochester they will have secured a spot in the NCCAA national tournament in Florida. Men’s head coach, Matthew Webb detailed the team mindset going into this part of the season, “Florida is the goal, but more specifically preparing for Roberts is the first goal.” This type of focused energy is something junior, Mitch Beattie, found important. He stated, “Our mindset during the post season has been to focus on one game at a time and to be working hard for each other.”
Webb also commented on the team’s mentality stating saying, “The team has gained confidence at the end of the season but is not over-confident.” Players on the team have witnessed the team confidence grow as well, Beattie explained, “We started putting the ball in the back of the net more toward the end of the season, and we hope to carry this through post season as well.”