Lady Bears Kick Off 2023 Campaign Under New Leadership

For the past few season’s the Southwest Women’s Soccer Team has endured a level of change in some form or fashion. Such is true again for the 2023 squad as they are under new leadership. Former assistant coach Nicole Daigle Cooper has been elevated as the head coach taking over for Zach Mills who is now solely in charge of the men’s team. For Daigle Cooper it is her first taste of being a head coach and it is a goal she has been working hard to accomplish.

“I think that this is just the opportunity that we have all been waiting for as a team, to bring in girls to compete and develop a culture that we have been trying to reconstruct,” Daigle Cooper said.

The women’s soccer program at Southwest dates back to the mid-2000’s and Daigle Cooper believes that this squad can not only make noise, but also history.

“I don’t want to speak too soon, but I truly believe that we have the best program this year that this school has every seen,” she said.

Equipped with a roster full of talent and leadership Daigle Cooper and assistant coach Dalton Cooper are eager to help keep the arrow pointed in the right direction.

One of the leaders that the coaching staff will rely upon is redshirt sophomore defender Rose Coats who missed nearly all of last year due to an injury.

“She has grown a ton since she’s been here, but I think what gives her the upper hand this year is that she has sat and watched our whole entire (2022) season from the bench, from a coaches perspective,” Daigle Cooper said. “She got that off-the-field knowledge that she needed to be a better leader and better captain. So, I think that she has grown a ton because she sees the things that we see and can implement them on her own.” Another key returner for the Lady Bears is Aoife Saunders who finished second on the team in scoring last season with four goals and 10 points.

As far as newcomers, a pair of that will be looked upon for leadership are goalkeeper Abigayle Green and mid-fielder Caroline Barcelona, both of whom have stood out with their leadership qualities on the pitch.

A freshman that Daigle Cooper believes will become a household name by the end of the regular season is Abby Davis.

“She’s a freshman from Picayune who is a salutatorian,” she said. “Overall she is an ideal player who is complete. She is quiet and I really think that she is going to surprise everyone. She puts her head down and works hard. That is one that I think that some people don’t know about now but should be one of our more consistent players.”

Early on, the Lady Bears will face tough non-conference opponents in Mississippi Valley, Columbia State and LSU-Eunice to name a few, however, Daigle Cooper believes she will get a good barometer of how well her team matches up. In addition, Southwest will face MACCC opponents Pearl River, Mississippi Gulf Coast and Hinds in non-conference action before conference play starts on Sept. 15 with a home match against Jones.

“I’m hoping that those matches will be harder than conference so that we will be prepared and really, just looking at these games to fix our weak spots and grow off of our strengths in order to just be successful within our conference,” Daigle Cooper said.

“We have bracelets made that says ‘positive vibes’ on us and that is a constant reminder of what we are trying to do,” Daigle Cooper said. “That is for off the field, on the field, anything.”