UMHS Girls' Soccer Team in an Uphill Race to the Playoffs

With a few games to play in the season, the Upper Moreland girls’ soccer team is not only looking to play spoiler, but to possibley sneak in the playoffs as well.

The road won’t be easy for Upper Moreland, but if the team can muster a few more wins they may have a shot.

At the same time, they may damage some team’s hopes in the area of making the big dance.

Either way, the Bears know what they have to do.

“What I like to see is more consistency from the girls,” said head coach Joe Joyce. “We are hot and cold. We kick the ball down the field well and all of a sudden we look like we can’t handle the ball.”

Not being able to stay consistent has been a problem for the Bears, but with most of their key players back from injury, now is the time to shine.

“We are pretty healthy now,” said Joyce. “Now they are just starting to play together. The injuries really hurt us at the beginning of the year.”

The Bears looked brilliant last week against Norristown. They scored six goals and moved the ball flawlessly. A few days later, they looked sloppy against Wissahickon in an important league match-up.

Fixing the few kinks will be the key to make the playoffs.

“I think we can win the rest of our games if we play smart soccer,” said Joyce. “We play Upper Merion and Cheltenham. We have had success in the past with those teams. We have to play more concise this way out.”

The Bears are a young team. Most of the players are underclassmen. Winning will come eventually with such a talented young team, but Joyce wants to see if his team can gain experience this year in the playoffs.

“This is a team that is going to be together for the next couple years,” he said. “As I said before, 90 percent of our team is comprised of underclassmen. I would like to finish strong and build up from this year to take into next year.”

Whether or not the Bears sneak into the playoffs, the team looks to bring it all together to take something positive into next year as well.

“We are really starting to come together,” said Joyce. “If we could get more consistent the outcome could be a lot more better. Putting together a whole 90-minute of a game is hard. I want to see more of a game than flashes of brilliance.”

If the Bears show flashes of brilliance just enough for the next few games, playoffs might be the subject of conversation.

“We have to take it one game at a time,” said Joyce. “One game at a time.”