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With only a small part of the season in their rear view, the Pipers will spend the next several weeks squaring off against the rest of the MIAC. Currently the team is ranked 9th in the West region, moving up a spot from last week following a 0-0 tie at Augsburg and a 1-0 victory over Northwestern. While there is certainly some sense of accomplishment for the solid start, the team has things in perspective.

“It is nice now to get some recognition within the soccer community, although the ranking at this point in the season doesn’t mean a great deal. It would be much more fun to see us ranked at the end of October. This is the first time Hamline has been ranked. I think the fact that we are ranked now is a bit of a tip of the cap to how well we did last year when we were on the borderline to getting ranked,” said head coach Andy Coutts.

Hamline’s biggest challenge yet came Sept. 16 against Augsburg. Both teams entered the contest undefeated, but with different attributes highlighting their success. Hamline’s offense had been very productive leading into the contest, whereas Augsburg’s defense had earned a solid reputation. The game played out a stingy defensive struggle that ended in a tie.

“Both teams’ effort and intensity made for a great college game atmosphere. On one hand you are disappointed not to win but also you feel lucky not to lose. There were a handful of chances for each team and either team certainly could have won,” said Coutts.

One area of noticeable change in the last few games has been the defense. “We are improving defensively. The last two games were shutouts. But we are a young team so we really have an endless amount of room for improvement,” said sophomore midfielder Jason Werthmann. This is a significant switch from the beginning of the year, where Hamline had no trouble putting points up but routinely gave up a goal or two a game.

When asked if there were any new strategic elements which may have added to the defensive success, Coach Coutts said, “We didn’t really change anything. We have continued to keep trying to defend better, knowing that we can’t give up a goal or two a game and hope to just outscore people. I think that we have emphasized the importance of playing good defense. It is the most unselfish part of the game, where the hard work isn’t recognized so much or doesn’t result in the glory of a goal or an assist.”

In the coming weeks, eight of the 10 games will be MIAC showdowns. What looks like a solid record now might look something altogether different unless the Pipers can maintain their way of things. Coach Coutts and his young squad have emphasized the need to treat every game like a playoff game.

“We try to prepare and train hard every day. I don’t think we can be successful in taking up a pre-game practice mentality, where you take it easy and try to save something for the next day. I don’t think that works at this level. I hope we keep the same frame of mind or that it even gets ratcheted up in intensity because we know we have those bigger games coming up,” said Coutts.

The team will travel to Concordia in Moorhead today.

“It is never an easy trip. We go up that day, we play, and we come back. It is a long day. We know we are usually in for bad weather and its not a great field. It is kind of a hostile environment. In terms of their team they are much better than they were last year, so we can expect a battle. But I would think that this is a game that we need to have if we’re going to keep our sights on the four-team playoff at the end of the year.”