The St. Edward’s University women’s soccer team now have a 2-1 record, as they opened their season with a dominant 5-0 win against New Mexico Highlands University on Sept. 3.

Their momentum continued as the women’s team beat their Heartland Conference rival Dallas Baptist University 1-0 on Sept. 8. Most recently, they lost a 2-1 overtime thriller against Texas A&M Commerce on Sept. 11.

Hilltop Views asked Women’s Head Soccer Coach Nick Cowell a few questions about the team and the season to come.

Hilltop Views: You guys opened with a big win over New Mexico. Do you think that’s an indicator of how the season will go moving forward?

Cowell: I hope so! But just as “one swallow does not a summer make,”  one game does not make a season. One instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend.

HV: It sounds like a lot of freshmen are making their presence known on the field. What do you think all that fresh blood will do for the season and for the program?

Cowell: We always try and bring in competitive recruiting classes. This class is as good as any we have brought in recently, not only in the quality of soccer player, but also in their commitment to academics and community service.

HV: You’ve been with the program for a long time now. How does this year’s team stack up, in your experience?

Cowell: The only prediction I will ever make is that I won’t make public predictions. There are too many variables in college sports to predict the future accurately. Even with high level sports analytics, there is always a certain randomness that makes sports interesting. This team has been exciting to coach, and I am looking forward to see where they get to as a group. 

You cannot miss any of the stages of building a team, so we are still in that early season stage of forming relationships and creating the team expectations of each other.

HV: Are you trying to do anything new with the program this year?

Cowell: Our goals for the program are pretty much the same every year:

Win every game

Win the conference

Win the conference tournament

Make the NCAA Tournament

Make the NCAA final four

Complete 1,000 hours of community service and have an average GPA greater than 3.5

My assistant coach, Kelsey Baird, is new, and we are excited about the different ideas that she has brought to the team, such as a leadership and camping trip.

HV: Anything you guys are worried about?

Cowell: We don’t spend time worrying about the possibility of negative events…I think that as a coach, you have to be an eternal optimist, and bounce back from any setbacks that your team might experience.

HV: And is there anything you want to add?

Cowell: We are excited about the season and we hope that our student fans will come out to support one of the top teams in the nation.

The Hilltoppers play their next home game at 3 p.m. tomorrow and hopefully right here on the home field at St. Edward’s.