Engineering sophomore Allison Dellis has big plans for this year’s women’s soccer team, taking on the 2024 season as the Mustangs’ starting goalkeeper.
During her freshman year, Dellis was named Lone Star Conference Goalkeeper of the Week on Nov. 7 and made it to the LSC Postseason All-Tournament Team. Dellis appeared in nine games, finishing the season with a 4-1-3 record. However, this year Dellis is looking for a turnaround for herself and her team.
Dellis says she has changed significantly this year as a player and leader.
“I would say I am just a little bit more understanding, a little bit more composed. And I think I want to play a more leadership role than I did when I first came in. I think I kind of did it out of responsibility to do so when I first came in here, and then now it’s actually a role that I want to play in order to help the incoming freshmen and to just help us,” Dellis said.
The sophomore added that her team helped a lot to establish herself as an example for the incoming players. She mentioned nursing senior Allessandra Romano and psychology senior Cassidy Savoy are two leaders on the team that helped Dellis grow. Dellis says she would like to do the same for the new players on the team.
“When I was younger, I kind of lost my love for [soccer] a little bit, and I was just kind of playing, because I’ve been doing it my whole life, and I know somewhere on the team there’s probably a player or two like that. So I hope I can try and kind of show them that honestly, the more effort you put into it, the more drive and the more you want to win, the better it becomes, at least for me. So I think, I hope at least my passion and my drive kind of inspires other people to be the same,” Dellis said.
Overall, Dellis saysthe team dynamic feels stronger compared to last season, as Dellis explains that they are more confident and more motivated to win together.
“Last year, I think we kind of went into a lot of games being like, like, against like, DBU, being like, ‘we’re gonna get crushed,’ because they’re a good team. And I think this year we’ve had a big mindset shift where we all trust each other. We all want to win. We’re all putting in extra hours in the weight room and lift and treatment and all getting what we need to get done,” Dellis said.
A major win for the Mustangs this season came Sept.8 when MSU defeated University of Central Oklahoma 3-1. This result is especially significant as the Mustangs have not won a match against the Bronchos since 2013.
A crucial moment in the game was marked in the second half when freshman defender Evelyn Sydnes scored for UCO, helping her team near 1-2 behind the Mustangs. Another close call followed 10 minutes later when Dellis saved a penalty kick from UCO’s graduate Rebekah George.
“I’m very proud of how my team handled the goal being scored. It was a very unlucky goal. Obviously, there’s things we can improve on from that circumstance, but overall, it was pretty unlucky, so I’m proud of how we fought back. And obviously they had chances to score other than that. But typically, when you go down,” Dellis said, adding, “When you’re when it’s when it’s a two one game, and the other team gains momentum, typically they’re able to come back inside the game. And the PK save was a big one. And I think after that moment, I’m kind of shifted back in our direction, and then we were able to go on and score another goal.”
The Mustangs are off to a great start so far, recording a clean winning record two games into the new season. The team’s motivation is strong as it are looks to improve its results from last year, after its loss to Dallas Baptist University in the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament.
“I would love to win the conference championship. I think that’s the number one on the forefront of my mind. Obviously, I want to take it game by game. I would like to have a minimum of eight shutouts, but if that doesn’t happen, then I’m okay with that, because I’m happy with how we’re playing as a team, and I think if we can continue to play this way as a team I do think we have a legitimate shot at winning the conference tournament, and I think that that’s the main thing that we’re striving for, is working up and building up to win,” Dellis said.
MSU will be back at Stang Park Sept. 28 to take on UT Tyler at 11 a.m.
