The 2022 Kansas City Roos Women’s Soccer campaign started off rather underwhelming in comparison to seasons past, with the team still vying for its first win nearly a month into their season. 

  Although the team has been shut out since Aug. 25th and outshot by a margin of 68-16 over the past four games, these stat lines don’t define the trials and tribulations of what the team has endured so far.

  Throughout the start of this season, Kansas City had to face the setbacks of playing short-handed due to injury, key members of the team absent because of COVID-19, along with the task of playing against quality opponents such as Creighton, No. 19 ranked St. Louis, Texas State, and Kansas.

  With all these hurdles now in the rearview mirror, the Roos must find a way to utilize what they learned through their losses and finally score themselves a victory if they want to have any hopes of keeping their season alive.

  Kansas City has been almost too good at finding themselves tied with their opponents heading into halftime, all thanks to their stellar first half on the defensive side. However, they have gotten into a habit of falling apart later on in the second half due to being overworked over the 90 minutes of play. 

  This situation all boils down to one key issue I’ve noticed, which has been the team’s lack of possession in comparison to their opponents. If they are capable of working on slowing the game down and not forcing the ball downfield, more often than not, the right opportunity will find itself naturally, rather than it leading to potential turnovers and counter-attacks that leave the defense out-of-position.

  While it’s easy for opposing teams to overlook them based on their 0-6-1 record so far, now is when the team must stand confident and prove to everyone else that despite what the numbers may look like, heart and determination need to be shown in order to win.

  There’s no better time to show this than this weekend, as the Roos get ready to host a two-game homestand starting off this Friday night vs. Chicago State.

  The Roos seems to be very comfortable historically when facing the Cougars, as they’re 8-0 in all competitions, with the smallest margin of victory being a 5-1 showing back in 2019.

  Catch the action starting this Friday night, Sept. 16th, at 7 p.m. at the Stanley H. Durwood Soccer Stadium, or watch it online on ESPN+.

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