Girls Soccer: Red Wing aims for more offense

Scoring goals or the lack of scoring goals hampered the Red Wing girls soccer team last season, but second-year head coach Dusty Beckman is actively trying to change that this season.

The Wingers went 3-12 last season and not being able to finish surfaced in many of those games.

Red Wing got shutout six times and finished with 15 goals for the season. Kaitlin Bischoff, who graduated in the spring, accounted for many of the goals, and the Wingers will need to find a way to score goals this season.

Beckman has emphasized scoring in practice this season with small-sided games using regulation goals.

He’s trying to make the team better finishers around the goal and think creatively about scoring goals.

“One of the biggest questions I’ve been asking is, Can you score?” Beckman said. “We had a drive to score, but it seemed like we didn’t know how to.”

To generate those goals, Red Wing will rely upon a cast of younger players including Paige Lampe, Maddy Hardyman, Brenna Pasch, Dani Welscher and Caitie Turcotte at the forward position.

Beckman expects the team to take more chances on offense this season to create more opportunities this season and that means he’ll tweak the formation to find more offense.

Beckman also has plans to add a midfielder to the attack frequently to create more scoring chances.

With midfielders Meagan Brown and Stacy Rother returning Red Wing will have experience.

Brown can help the Wingers control possession and has improved her vision of the field, Beckman said.

“She’s taking it to the next level where she’s got great possession of the ball and now she’s a playmaker with the ball,” Beckman said. “She’s setting up goals.’

Beckman has incorporated more ideas to the team this year.

Beckman emphasized possession last season and now he’s moving to new concepts.

“The senior class and junior captains are willing to jump on board with what I’m selling,” Beckman said. “With that willing group I’m able to try those new concepts.”

Red Wing graduated three starters from last year’s team including Bischoff.

Defender Sydney Zeig and goalkeeper Sierra Furlong are the other two who graduated and their loss leaves a void defensively.

The Wingers have two goalkeepers in contention for the starter spot in Serena Scanlon and Izzy DiNatale.

Beckman is waiting on making a decision until he sees both in a game situation.

On defense the Wingers return starters Maddie Erie, Jenna Ford and Val Gehn.

Red Wing opens the season at 6 p.m. today.

Tags: girls soccer, red wing, sports, prep