Strong players with the intensity to win were apparently enough for women’s and men’s soccer during the preseason; though, they weren’t playing on a level field with their opponents. More like half a field.

Both teams went into the season sharing a grassy field for practice, and the shortcoming was evident in their play. But the coaches couldn’t be happier with their players, having held their own in competition though hobbled by construction. The Lady Trojans were 4-2 and the Trojans were 3-2 in their pre-conference games.

“It set our teams back a little,” said Andreas Wolf, director of Physical Education and Athletic Division. “But have you seen them play? It’s attributable to the coaches’ resolve and flexibility in dealing with the [construction] issues.”

Unlike football, pre-conference soccer games count in the Coast Conference in terms of seeding for the playoffs. Throughout the preseason, the coaches had an unusual view of their teams with one element clearly missing in game-time situations: the benefit of training on an entire field. The synthetic-turf-practice field was supposed to be completed by July 26 and was delayed until Aug. 18, Wolf said.

Players showed up for a two-week intensive training before the start of the semester, but the practice field remained closed. According to a project manager for the athletic facilities, the delays were compounded when a quarry could not be found for a type of rock needed in the synthetic-turf infrastructure. The processed rock or top rock percolates water and proposed samples had failed materials testing.

“With construction, when you affect one part of the plan, it can affect other contractors as well,” said Jeff Feeney, administrative project manager for Robert A. Bothman, Inc., adding that subcontractors went to work on other jobs and had to be scheduled back in. A further delay had to do with a field turf adjustment in the logo and text design.

The deadline came and went. School started and more students signed up to play soccer. The ranks swelled to 22 for the women’s team and 40 for the men’s team. The game field was split in two, and the men and women diverged to train separately.

The players worked on their individual skills of dribbling, passing and controlling the ball, but the tactical component was missing, Wolf said. With half a field, scrimmages were limited to smaller teams of six or less players and not the typical 11 v. 11.

Conditioning was also a challenge without a full field, and the track was closed for construction. But the coaches got creative and used the gymnasium and weight room which were still open, and the players trained on spinning bikes. To Wolf’s amazement, there was little in the way of complaints from the players or excuses for their losses because of the construction.

What became evident to Women’s Head Soccer Coach Kevin Corsiglia during those first few preseason games were his players’ fitness level, their weakness in defending against long passes and the anticipation of what team mates will do in the heat of a play.

Yet, Corsiglia is hesitant to say that field size was the sole, contributing factor, though he concedes there were limits in the coaching that could be done and that certain types of sessions had to be put off for the first couple of weeks.

He’s quick to add that his team of 20 is mostly comprised of new players, and only six are returning from last year’s play-off team. They’re working out the tactical details of playing together on a full field now that the practice field is open.

Without fanfare, the synthetic-turf practice field was opened on Sept. 8, and like many things about the preseason, the details are beginning to fade in light of what’s ahead and the glinting-green expanse of the new field.

Rather than a natural field which gets muddy and full of ankle-grabbing ruts after a rain, the soccer teams have a safer and better surface to play on. And rain delays will be shorter in duration because of the drainage system beneath the sewn-in mat of synthetic grass.

The spring in the players’ steps may be more than the shock-absorptive properties of the new turf. Corsiglia observed a change in the players’ morale.

“There’s a psychological feeling to look down a new field,” Corsiglia said. “It’s a great boost [to the women] that this school put money into the program. It’s like a new car. Everyone’s been positive about it.”