After losing 1-0 to Auburn to end the fall season, the Alabama women’s soccer team went into the winter off-season with a plan. Although the team didn’t expect to undergo as many staff and roster changes as it did, coach Todd Bramble said he was impressed by what he saw.

“At times I think we managed to own the games we played pretty well,” Bramble said. “There was only one game where I felt like we sort under-performed but of the course of the spring with the focus, we go into those games; we don’t rest the team going into those games. We train through these games in the spring for the most part, so the substitution patterns are going to be different, who wants to start, and it’s all about giving people the chance in a lot of different situations. From the performance and what we learned from the games, I am happy with what we got out of the spring.”

(See also “Fans help hitchhiking soccer stars“)

The under-performance Bramble mentioned was the loss to Clemson, which was the only loss of the spring season. Bramble said the team didn’t lose the game because of technical issues but instead due to its response to adversity.

“With the focus of what we were working on this spring, or where our focus was with technical ability and our fitness and our athleticism, neither of those areas were an issue in the game,” Bramble said. “I think the problem with us that day was how we responded to adversity, which is more of a mental issue than a team concept or a chemistry concept. Technically, we didn’t have any issues that day.”

Losing only four seniors, the Crimson Tide had two early enrollees join the team in January. The team also hired a new strength and conditioning coach, Erwin van Bennekom. Junior Theresa Diederich said the changes were different, but the team has improved.

“I would say it was a different transition because we have a new strength and conditioning coach so it was kind of like adapting to his new ways and things that he does differently than we are used to,” Diederich said. “Having so many new freshmen come in gives the girls on our team something to become more familiar with and how they play and growing our mental aspect of the game, which we struggled with last year.”

Over the course of the spring season, Alabama played teams it usually never faces off against. One of the more notable games was against the U-17 Ghana team in March. Ghana, who was en route to the U-17 World Cup, stopped by Tuscaloosa to play against the Crimson Tide before heading to the World Cup. Though Alabama won the game 1-0, Ghana coach Abrahams Allotey said he wished his team could have competed against Alabama more than once.

(“Soccer team defeats U-17 Ghana“)

Besides playing Ghana, the Crimson Tide played a total of six games in the spring season.

Now that Alabama is headed into the off-season, Bramble said the team will continue to work hard throughout the summer and push itself to have more success in the fall.

(See also “Men’s club soccer team keeps competitive edge“)