By Connor Gray, Senior Reporter
The Lady Rangers soccer team has finished its exhibition season as the team prepares for the regular season.
The Lady Rangers had exhibition matchups against Southwestern College, Northeastern State University and Oral Roberts University.
The Lady Rangers will move on Saturday for their first regular season game against Oklahoma Panhandle State.
Coach Alex Piekarski is in his third season as the head coach of the Lady Rangers and looks to build off last season. Northwestern finished third in the Great American Conference last season with a record of 11-6-2.
“We had a really good season last year,” forward Abby Nunez said. “We wanted to build on the success from that season.”
When asked what it is like being a fifth-year leader, midfielder Kailani Kealoha said she enjoyed the role.
“It’s humbling and it’s a good feeling,” Kealoha said. “It’s like us passing down knowledge to the freshmen and we also learn from them.”
Piekarski also talked about how important it is to schedule teams on different levels to prepare for the season.
“It was part of the thinking when putting our exhibition schedule together,” Piekarski said. “It was to make sure that we got good quality opponents.”
Southwestern College is an NAIA school, Northeastern is Division II and Oral Roberts is Division I, as the differences in the talent of each team are preparing the Lady Rangers.
When asked about Nunez and Kealoha coming back, Piekarski was positive.
“It’s really special to be honest, knowing how much investment Kealoha and Nunez have put into Ranger soccer and the progress they have made,” Piekarski said.
Northwestern played the Northeastern State Riverhawks Saturday, with the Lady Rangers winning, 3-2.
Despite the win, the Lady Rangers struggled with possession time and faltered late in man-to-man defense, which Piekarski said they needed to improve before the season starts.
Northwestern’s regular season begins with three straight home games against Oklahoma Panhandle State Aug. 26 at 7 p.m., Newman University Aug. 28 at noon and Wayne State College Sept. 1 at 6 p.m.