The women’s soccer team hit the road Thursday, Sep. 29, for four straight away games. 

Opponents and dates include: Western Oregon University (WOU) on Sept. 29, Saint Martin’s University (SMU) on Oct. 1, Seattle Pacific University (SPU) on Oct. 6, and Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) on 8. 

According to Wildcat Sports, CWU fell to three out of four of these teams the last time they faced off, winning against only one competitor, SMU. 

The Sept. 29 game against WOU ended in a scoreless tie of 0-0.

CWU scored two goals against SMU on Oct. 1, only allowing one point against; ending with a final score of 2-1, CWU. 

NNU is the only team out of these four that CWU has played already this year. NNU and CWU went head to head during preseason, where NNU walked away from Tomlinson Stadium with a 2-0 win. 

Peyton Vogel, senior center defender, said, “For these next couple of games,  we are really looking at getting better as a team.”

SPU seems to be the top competitor out of the four teams, according to Jaxyn Farmen, senior defender.

Farmen said, “They’re [SPU] always very organized and they’re always strong. Every year it’s a battle.”

Vogel said she believes SPU will be their biggest challenge mentally, but there are other teams to look out for. 

“Every college has been so different since my freshman year,” Vogel said. “SPU and Western Washington have typically been the teams that have been the hardest,”  “NNU beat SPU this year, so it’s very up in the air.”

According to Vogel, there is one aspect that makes away games more difficult: field size fluctuation. 

“Every field is different sized,” Vogel said. “Everyone has a different length and a different width because there is so much of a variety each school can have and each field can have, as long as they meet the standards.”

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), in 1995 the Soccer Rule Book listed that a soccer field “‘shall be rectangular, with a length of 115-120 yards and a width of 70-75 yards.’ However, soccer fields built before 1995 – when the only requirements were that they be longer than they were wide – have been grandfathered in.”

“I genuinely feel like we play better when we’re not on our home field,” Farmen said. “Going in with the mindset that we have nothing to lose and that we’re playing for ourselves, because we don’t have any fans there, that definitely boosts us to play harder.”

According to Vogel, only 20 players out of their 30 person roster get to attend away games. 

“It’s really hard on the mind if you’re not one of the girls who are traveling,” Vogel said.

During away games, Farmen said, “The energy level has always been great because we really want to make the girls at home proud.” 

The soccer team has their focus on making it to the GNAC tournament, according to Vogel. 

“It’s all just up in the air and what the record is going to be and how we get to GNACs,” Vogel said.

The women’s soccer team returns to Tomlinson Stadium Oct. 13, to take on SMU yet again, this time on their home turf.