HELENA — Spring soccer in Montana can change at the drop of a hat, and Dave Thorvilson, coach of the Carroll College women's program, had his team on the field for spring drills while battling wet and snowy conditions.
“Well, first you look at the weather hourly and try to figure out if you’re going to be inside or outside this time of year,” Thorvilson said.
Thorvilson has been coaching soccer at the collegiate level for nearly 25 years, and has been with the Saints for the previous 20. This spring season has been quite the challenge. “Obviously, the benefit is I’ve been here for so long that I kind of know what to do versus trying to figure out what to do,” he said.
Carroll’s spring season is a time for a young team to come together and evaluate what they’ve lost as well as what the team will be bringing in next year. Thorvilson and 11th-year assistant coach Meghan O’Connell will use this time to try and figure out what changes need to occur prior to next year.
Emily Funseth, a graduate of CMR High School in Great Falls, is one of the Saints' returning players. “I think our team all around is really going to be great so I think it’s going to be a really good season,” she said.
Team chemistry is growing with this squad, and Funseth spoke about how both of her coaches are able to set everyone up for success in the classroom and on the soccer field. “They’re shaping us to be good people, and successful on the field and their both really good coaches,” she said.
While Funseth is a veteran, Deanna Lord is in her second spring season with the program. Originally from Cave Creek, Arizona, Lord is used to playing soccer basically year-round, saying, “Everyone at the collegiate level is really skillful, so it’s just getting to that level where everything’s competitive, which is different (than high school) but it helps you become that much better."
Ex-Helena Capital player Jaymee Sheridan is thrilled for the upcoming season at Carroll: “Our goals are always the same, to play an amazing season, and be conference champions, as always, but, we really want to make it to the next round of the conference tournament, honestly,” she said.
