FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas State football team finished the spring exhibition season undefeated, leaving the field in Texas fresh off a 2-2 tie with Baylor.
The Razorbacks are now turning their attention to the fall, when they will likely be named one of the favorites to win the SEC and national titles. Both of these accolades are goals and achievable, with Arkansas finishing runner-up to Georgia in the SEC Tournament last season and losing to Pittsburgh in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
And the Razorbacks will look to pace themselves to compete again. It may be a bit of a guess to get much out of the four spring exhibitions, but Arkansas showed promise in those games. Before the tie against Baylor, an undefeated record was promised with three wins over Nebraska, 6-1, Central Arkansas, 6-0, and John Brown, 6-1.
The Razorbacks averaged five goals and conceded one point per game. Coach Colby Hale praised the combination of experience and youth, and the standard they held on both ends.
“Our focus was on consistency and performance in training, and we thought this was a huge step forward,” Hale said. “Spring can be a challenge as there is a lot of training without the immediate amenities of games every weekend. I thought the training sessions were one of the most consistent of the semester so far. ”
Although Arkansas lost some impactful players, including Bea Franklin, Morgan White and Anna Podzil, several returning players stepped into the role, and other freshmen and freshmen also performed well. “It was fresh, but it wasn’t young,” Hale said.
Transfers Ella Rogers and Kelsey Oyler played big roles throughout the spring, and freshman Aniyah Robinson showed she can contribute right away.
The versatile attack displayed by six different goal scorers against UCA is a clear result of the spring schedule. Returning SEC forward of the year Eva Tankersley is the headliner, and young attackers like Robinson and Taylor Berman also show they can contribute in a variety of scoring ways.
“Creating chances seems to be this team's strength,” Hale said. “There's a lot of different types of offensive players, and there's some different pieces that I think are really good for us to use.”
However, much of the attack came from strong midfield play. Rodgers, who joined from Xavier, played alongside the returning midfield and made an immediate impact. Building a more diverse midfield with tactical fluidity was the focus in the spring.
“We've always had elite offensive players,” Hale said. “I think that can be a real strength for the team, both in terms of offensive production and playing in transition. I think there’s some really good, hungry production there. ”
The main question is who will start at goalkeeper, but Hale has confidence in each candidate and is not rushing to make a decision.
Hale said more newcomers will join in the fall. “When you have three freshmen and one transfer, the portal opens up. We're always going to talk to some kids in the portal,” Hale said. But Fayetteville feels the main core is already in place.
“The team we had in the spring can win a lot of games,” Hale said. “We're not desperate to go find players. We always try to recruit players that we think can help us win a national championship, but we have a really strong core on the team and we don't have any starting pitchers. I imagine he'll be able to come in and play the majority of the time.”
